Group 1: the First Amendment

Curriculum ~ Legal Issues group assignment and answers

Complete the assignment listed below, using the space below the description for notes that you make while reading about the topic. Upon completion of assignment below, create a powerpoint presentation (as a group) to include all the elements described in the assignment. Be prepared to present the presentation to the class as a group, ensure each person in your group has a speaking part.

Group 1: The First Amendment

· Locate and analyze a copy of the First Amendment. Paraphrase the act and interpret its overall meaning

· Research and define the Alien and Sedition Acts. Briefly summarize the acts. How does this information correlate with the First Amendment?

· Read Brandenburg vs. Ohio, 1969. Summarize briefly the decision. What conclusions can you draw given the First Amendment?

Group two: The five elements of libel

· Locate and define the five elements of libel

· Give credit to the source you found the information

· Define negligence as it compares to malice.

· What are the defenses to libel? to malice?

· Given this information, what are your responsibilities as a journalist?

Group 3: Student press law

· Locate and review the Tinker Case, 1969. Write a brief summary of the decision

· Locate and review the Hazelwood Case, 1988. Write a brief summary and compare that decision with Tinker.

· Which decision does RHS Today fall under and why?

· For additional information and help with this question, go to http://www.splc.org

· Read one article from the Student Press Law Center site, and write a brief summary of the case and how the First Amendment applied.

Group 4: What are ethics?

· Locate and review The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics and the codes of other organizations and newspapers.

· For each of the four subheadings, write a brief summary.

· Comment on what you have learned from this code compared to your perception of journalistic integrity in today's society.

· Write a personal code of ethics that includes at least two subheadings and eight statements.

Group 5: The truth, Jayson Blair, and The New York Times

· Locate and review at least three (you may have more) reliable sources regarding Jayson Blair.

· Review briefly the cases of Steven Glass, New Republic and Janet Cooke, The Washington Post. How is Blair's case the same or different?

· Write a 2-page paper that includes a brief summary of your sources, your opinion, and what you have learned about the responsibility of journalists generally and editors specifically.

Group 6: What is diversity and what does it mean to us?

· Research to learn the ethnicity of our high school and our town

· Go to http://poynteronline.org/content/content_view.asp?id=1187 and Select two topics to review. Write a one-page analysis and commentary on what you have learned.

· Review last year's yearbook for diversity, and prepare a brief summary on how we did.

· Write a plan to diversify coverage in our yearbook. Include at least five concrete, tangible ways we can do this.

TEACHER KEY:

Group 1 - The First Amendment

Locate and analyze a copy of the First Amendment. Paraphrase the act and interpret its overall meaning SEE WEBSITE: http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/First_amendment

Research and define the Alien and Sedition Acts. Briefly summarize the acts. How does this information correlate with the First Amendment?

Under the threat of war with France, Congress in 1798 passed four laws in an effort to strengthen the Federal government. Known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts, the legislation sponsored by the Federalists was also intended to quell any political opposition from the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson.

The first of the laws was the Naturalization Act, passed by Congress on June 18. This act required that aliens be residents for 14 years instead of 5 years before they became eligible for U.S. citizenship.

Congress then passed the Alien Act on June 25, authorizing the President to deport aliens "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" during peacetime.

The third law, the Alien Enemies Act, was enacted by Congress on July 6. This act allowed the wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of any alien subject to an enemy power.

The last of the laws, the Sedition Act, passed on July 14 declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. By virtue of this legislation twenty-five men, most of them editors of Republican newspapers, were arrested and their newspapers forced to shut down.

One of the men arrested was Benjamin Franklin's grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the Philadelphia Democrat-Republican Aurora. Charged with libeling President Adams, Bache's arrest erupted in a public outcry against all of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Many Americans questioned the constitutionality of these laws. Indeed, public opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts was so great that they were in part responsible for the election of Thomas Jefferson, a Republican, to the presidency in 1800. Once in office, Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under the Sedition Act, while Congress restored all fines paid with interest.

SEE: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/sedition/

Read Brandenburg vs. Ohio, 1969. Summarize briefly the decision. What conclusions can you draw given the First Amendment?

The ruling reversed a previous Supreme Court decision setting a new precedent for the "clear and present danger" standard in First Amendment cases. The Court now held that a person's words were protected as free speech as long as they did not directly incite unlawful action. Concerns became raised later that the standard established in the decision was not appropriate in situations involving mass communications through the Internet and popular talk-shows in the 1980s and 1990s.

Read more: http://law.jrank.org/pages/23049/Brandenburg-v-Ohio-Significance.html

Group 2 - The five elements of libel

What is libel? Locate and define the five elements of libel

Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others. Libel generally refers to statements or visual depictions in written or other permanent form, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures. The term defamation is often used to encompass both libel and slander. http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Public_Resources/Libel_FAQs/Libel_FAQs.htm

The five elements of libel are - publication, identification, defamation, fault, and injury.

Publication need only be the dissemination of the defamation to one person other than the victim.

Identification is usually limited to an individual. The plaintiff must show the publication identified him or her as the libelled party. The standards for group libel vary from state to state and are difficult to prove.

Defamation must be proven by the plaintiff. Did the publication contain a false defamatory fact which held them up to public ridicule?

Fault must be "persuasively demonstrated" on the part of the publisher or broadcaster.

Actual injury must be shown by the plaintiff. He or she must demonstrate some loss of money, reputation, or standing in the community, or evidence of metal anguish and suffering.

Give credit to the source you found the information

http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~jcooper/emlaw/unit4_lib.html

Define negligence as it compares to malice.

Celebrities, politicians, high-ranking or powerful government officials, and others with power in society are generally considered public figures/officials and are required to prove actual malice. Unlike these well-known and powerful individuals, your shy neighbor is likely to be a private figure who is only required to prove negligence if you publish something defamatory about her.

SEE: http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/proving-fault-actual-malice-and-negligence

What are the defenses to libel? to malice?

LIBEL:

Truth is generally a complete bar to recovery by any plaintiff who sues for libel. Making sure that any potentially libelous material can be proven true can avoid needless litigation.

Fair report. Libelous statements made by others in certain settings often are conditionally privileged if the reporter, in good faith, accurately reports information of public interest. This privilege usually applies to official meetings such as judicial proceedings, legislative hearings and grand jury deliberations.

Neutral report. Although less broadly recognized, this privilege can protect the publication of defamatory statements made by one public figure about another public figure. The report must be presented in a neutral manner.

Opinion is still protected speech under the First Amendment, although the Supreme Court limited the formerly broad reach of opinion protection in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal.12 The court ruled that there is no separate opinion privilege, but because factual truth is a defense to a libel claim, an opinion with no "provably false factual connotation" is still protected.

As a result of this decision, courts will examine statements of opinion to see if they are based on or presume underlying facts. If these facts are false or defamatory, the "opinion" statements will not be protected.

Consent. If a person gives permission for the publication of the information, that person cannot later sue for libel. However, denial, refusal to answer or silence concerning the statement do not constitute consent.

The statute of limitations for bringing libel suits varies from state to state. Generally the time limit for filing a libel lawsuit starts at the time of the first publication of the alleged defamation. If the plaintiff does not sue within the statutory time period, the litigation can be barred.

Although a retraction is not usually considered an absolute defense to a libel claim, it may reduce the damages a defendant must pay if found liable for defamation. Before agreeing to publish a retraction, consult an attorney. http://www.rcfp.org/handbook/c01p08.html

MALICE:

It should be noted that the actual malice standard focuses on the defendant's actual state of mind at the time of publication. Unlike the negligence standard discussed later in this section, the actual malice standard is not measured by what a reasonable person would have published or investigated prior to publication. Instead, the plaintiff must produce clear and convincing evidence that the defendant actually knew the information was false or entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his publication. In making this determination, a court will look for evidence of the defendant's state of mind at the time of publication and will likely examine the steps he took in researching, editing, and fact checking his work. It is generally not sufficient, however, for a plaintiff to merely show that the defendant didn't like her, failed to contact her for comment, knew she had denied the information, relied on a single biased source, or failed to correct the statement after publication. http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/proving-fault-actual-malice-and-negligence

Given this information, what are your responsibilities as a journalist?

Answers will vary.

Group 3 - Student press law

Locate and review the Tinker Case, 1969. Write a brief summary of the decision

In the landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S. Ct. 733, 21 L. Ed. 2d 731 (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court extended the First Amendment's right to freedom of expression to public school students. The ruling, which occurred during the Vietnam War, granted students the right to express their political opinions as long as they did not disrupt the classroom. The Court made clear that public school administrators and school boards could not restrict First Amendment rights based on a general fear of disruption. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Tinker+decision

Locate and review the Hazelwood Case, 1988. Write a brief summary and compare that decision with Tinker.

In January 1988, the United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. The decision upheld the right of public high school administrators at Hazelwood East High School in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, to censor stories concerning teen pregnancy and the effects of divorce on children from a school-sponsored student newspaper.

The "Hazelwood" decision was in dramatic contrast to the previous 15 years' decisions of courts across the country that had given student journalists extensive First Amendment protections. As a result, many students and advisers are concerned about the status of their rights. http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4721