First Amendment Library

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) [Findlaw]
Secondary Link	New York Times Co. v. Sullivan [Legal Information Institute]
Argument Date	01/06/1964
Decided	3/9/1964
Supreme Court Vote	9-0
Supreme Court Ruling	State court ruling reversed and case remanded. First Amendment claim sustained.

Issue	To what extent does the First Amendment protections for speech and press limit a state's power to award damages in a libel action brought by a public official against critics of his official conduct?

Case Summary & Additional Resources

Majority Opinion

Brennan, J.

Concurring Opinion

Black, J., & Goldberg (concurring in result)

Lower Court

Alabama Supreme Court

Lower Court Ruling

First Amendment claim denied

Oral Arguments

Oral Arguments [Oyez]
-- Edited transcript [curiae.yale.edu]

Lawyers

For Petitioner

Herbert Wechsler

For Respondent

William P. Rogers & Samuel R. Pierce, Jr.

Briefs

For Petitioner

Herbert Brownell, Thomas F. Daley, Louis M. Loeb, Herbert Wechsler, Marvin E. Frankel, Saul L. Sherman & Ronald S. Diana, Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of Alabama [curiae.yale.edu]

I. H. Wachtel, Charles S. Conley & Benjamin S. Harris, Brief for Petitioners [curiae.yale.edu]

I. H. Wachtel, Charles S. Conley, Benjamin Spiegel & Raymond S. Harris, Petition for Certiorari in # 40 [curiae.yale.edu]

I. H. Wachtel, Charles S. Conley, Benjamin Spiegel & Raymond S. Harris, Petitioners' Reply to Respondent's Brief in Opposition [curiae.yale.edu]

For Respondent

Robert E. Steiner, III, Sam Rice Baker & M. Roland Nachman, Jr., Brief for Respondent in #39 (NYT v. Sullivan) [curiae.yale.edu]

Robert E. Steiner, III, Sam Rice Baker & M. Roland Nachman, Jr., Brief for Respondent in #40 (Abernathy v. Sullivan) [curiae.yale.edu]

Robert E. Steiner, III, Sam Rice Baker & M. Roland Nachman, Jr., Brief for Respondent in Opposition [curiae.yale.edu]

Robert E. Steiner, III, Sam Rice Baker & M. Roland Nachman, Jr., Brief for Respondent in Opposition in #40, [curiae.yale.edu]

Robert E. Steiner, III, Sam Rice Baker & M. Roland Nachman, Jr., Objection to Motion of Tribune Company for Leave to File Brief as Amicus Curiae [curiae.yale.edu]

For Amicus

Howard Ellis, Keith Masters, & Don H. Reuben, Motion of Tribune Company for Leave to File a Brief as Amicus Curiae [curiae.yale.edu]

Howard Ellis, Keith Masters, Don H. Reuben, Louis M. Loeb, Herbert Wechsler, Marvin E. Frankel, Saul L. Sherman & Roland S. Diana, Brief of Tribune Company as Amicus Curiae [curiae.yale.edu]

William P. Rogers & Gerald W. Siegel, et al, Motion of the Washington Post Company for Leave to File a Brief as Amicus Curiae and Brief of the Washington Post Company as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. I, # 1 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. I, # 2 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. I, # 3 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. I, # 4 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. I, # 5 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. II, # 1 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. II, # 2 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. II, # 3 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. II, # 4 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. II, # 5 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. III, # 1 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. III, # 2 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. III, # 3 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. III, # 4 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. IV, # 1 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. IV, # 2 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. IV, # 3 [curiae.yale.edu]

Transcript of Record, Vol. IV, # 4 [curiae.yale.edu]

News Stories & Commentary

AP, "Libel cases can't go to jury till courts examine speech" (03-03-05)

Clayton, James, "Right to Criticize Public Officials Upheld in High Court Libel Ruling," Washington Post, March 10, 1964, sect. A, p. 1

Editorial, "Criticizing Public Servants," Washington Post, March 10, 1964, sect. A, p. 16

Editorial, "Free Press & Free People," New York Times, p. 36

Lewis, Anthony, "Annals of Law, The Sullivan Case," The New Yorker, November 5, 1984, p. 52

Lewis, Anthony, "Court Broadens Freedom of the Press," New York Times, March 15, 1964, sect. E, p. 10

Lewis, Anthony, "High Court Curbs Public Officials in Libel Actions," New York Times, March 10, 1964, p. 1

Lewis, Anthony, "High Court Extends Protection of First Amendment to Suits Against Papers," March 11, 1964, p. 20

New York Times, "Decision Welcomed by Times Publisher," New York Times, March 10, 1964, p. 23

New York Times, "Times Loses Bid in 2 Libel Cases," New York Times, March 24, 1964, p. 24

New York Times, "Wallace 'Not Surprised' by Ruling in Times's Case, New York Times, March 10, 1964, p. 24

News

AP, "Jury finds Boston Herald libeled judge" (02-18-05)

Other

Anderson, David, "Libel and Press Self-Censorship," Texas Law Review 422 (1975)

AP, "Study finds news media sued less but shell out more in damages" (3/6/06)

Bollinger, Lee, THE TOLERANT SOCIETY (1986), pp. 48-53, 169-171, 223-224

Brody, Steven G. & Johnson, Bruce E. H., ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL SPEECH: A FIRST AMENDMENT GUIDE (2ND ED., 2006), sect. 1.3.3

Burnett, Nicholas, "New York Times v. Sullivan," in FREE SPEECH ON TRIAL (2003), Richard A. Parker, ed., pp. 116-129

Collins, Ronald K.L., "New York Times Co. v. Sullivan: The Case that Changed First Amendment History" [Freedom Forum website, March 2004]

Dennis, Everette, & Noam, Eli, editors, THE COSTS OF LIBEL: ECONOMIC & POLICY IMPLICATIONS (1989)

Dickson, Del, THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE (1940-1985): THE PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS BEHIND NEARLY 300 SUPREME COURT DECISIONS (2001), pp. 378-81

Dienes, Thomas & Levine, Lee, "Implied Libel, Defamatory Meaning & The State of Mind: The Promise of New York Times v. Sullivan," 778 Iowa Law Review 237 (1993)

Emerson, Thomas, THE SYSTEM OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (1970), pp. 520-524

Epstein, Richard, "Was New York Times v. Sullivan Wrong?," 533 University of Chicago Law Review 782 (1986)

Freedom Forum Special Topic Page: Sullivan at 40 Years

Hall, Kermit, "Cultural History & the First Amendment: New York Times v. Sullivan & Its Times," in CONSTITUTIONALISM & AMERICAN CULTURE: WRITING THE NEW CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, Sandra F. Vanburkleo, et al, editors (2002), pp. 267-304

Harry Kalven, Jr., "Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Note on Free Speech & the Warren Court," 67 Michigan Law Review 289 (1968)

Hopkins, W. Wat, ACTUAL MALICE: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER TIMES v. SULLIVAN (1989)

Hudson, Jr., David, "Civil Rights & First Amendment: Overview"

Hudson, Jr., David, "Libel & Defamation Overview"

Kalven, Harry, "The New York Times Case: A Note on 'The Central Meaning of the First Amendment,'" 1964 Supreme Court Review 1

Kalven, Harry, "'Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide Open': A Note on Free Speech and the Warren Court," 67 Michigan Law Review 289 (1968)

Levine, Lee, "Press Overview"

Lewis, Anthony, "New York Times v. Sullivan Reconsidered: Time to Return to 'The Central Meaning of the First Amendment,'" 83 Columbia Law Review 603 (1983)

Lewis, Anthony, MAKE NO LAW: THE SULLIVAN CASE & THE FIRST AMENDMENT(1992)

Mayton, William, "Seditious Libel & the Lost Guarantee of Freedom of Expression," 84 Columbia Law Review 91 (1984)

Photo of newspaper ad

Pierce, Samuel, "The Anatomy of an Historic Decision, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan," 43 North Carolina Law Review 315 (1965)

Resource: Freedom Forum website, New York Times v. Sullivan at 40 Years

Schauer, Frederick, "On the Relationship Between Press Law & Press Content," in FREEING THE PRESSES: THE FIRST AMENDMENT IN ACTION, edited by Timothy E. Cook (Louisiana State Univ. Press, 2005), pp. 51-68

Smolla, Rodney, SMOLLA & NIMMER ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH (1994), sect. 11.01 [1]

Smolla, Rodney, SUING THE PRESS: LIBEL, THE MEDIA & POWER (1986), pp. 26-52

Special Issue, "New York Times v. Sullivan: Forty Years Later," 9 Communication Law & Policy 387-596 (2004)

text of newspaper advertisment

Tribe, Laurence, AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (2nd ed., 1988), pp. 862-886

Weaver, Russell, Kenyon, Andrew, et al, THE RIGHT TO SPEAK ILL (Carolina Academic Press, 2006), pp. 39-76, 183-200

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