Justice Brennan Case Study

OPINIONS: Justice Brennan wrote the majority opinion; Justices Clark, Harlan Stewart, Warren and White joined the opinion; Justice Black concurred, with whom Justice Douglas joined. Justice Goldberg concurred, with whom Justice Douglas joined.

FACTS: The New York Times ran a full-page advertisement in 1960; civil right activists paid for this ad. The police department from Montgomery, Alabama was criticized in the ad for its treatment of civil rights protestors. Some of the claims made were accurate and some were not. Police commissioner, L.B. Sullivan who had taken offence to the ad, then sued the New York Times, saying he had been libeled and his reputation had been damaged. The Alabama court ruled in favor of Sullivan, saying the New York

Justice Brennan summed up the legal issue by explaining that "a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials." He maintained that incorrect statements are inevitable in free debate and must be protected if freedom of expression is to have the "breathing space" it needs to survive. Justice Black argued that the First and Fourteenth Amendments do not just limit a State’s power to award damages, but completely prohibit a State from using this power. Thus arguing that the press should never be held liable in the defamation of public officials. He stated that the Defendant had an absolute right to publish any criticism of the Alabama officials. Justice Goldberg stated that the right to speak one’s mind should not depend upon an investigation by the jury to the motivation of the citizen or press. The theory of our Constitution is that every citizen may speak his mind on matters of public concern and may not be barred from speaking or publishing because those in control of government think that what is said or written is unfair, false, or