JOUR 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Barbara Walters, Sergey Brin, John Cameron Swayze
5 Mar 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
A tort is a legally recognized harm that views the injured party the right to sue the injurer for financial compensations. Don"t confuse torts with crimes--or you could be sued for libel. Crime: a defendant is charged by a prosecutor and might go to jail. Tort: a defendant is sued by a plaintiff and might have to pay money. Plaintiff=the party that filed the lawsuit (the defamed person) Defendant=the party that is sued (the alleged defamer) The plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant caused the harm. The plaintiff must prove each of these elements to win a libel lawsuit: The defendant published (shared with at least one other person) Governmental agencies cannot sue people for libel. However individual government officials can sue for libel. Defamatory statement=tends to harm the reputation of another as to lower her/him in the estimation of the community or deter others from associating with her/her. Of fact=provable true or false--not merely opinion.
