Defamation

4 Pages 1008 Words

The law of defamation is to protect the reputation of the people. Its main purpose is to control the freedom of speech and guard those in the “spot light”. Defamation is an intentional tort. It is harm done through false statements or actions to deliberately hurt the reputation of an individual. These false attacks are done through either libel or slander. Libel is the visual vilification. The printings of lies or misleading photos are typically characteristics of this. Libel exposes or subjects you to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or disgrace, or causes you to be shunned or avoided, or injures you in your occupation. Slander is the type of defamation that you hear. This is generally in the form of rumors or inflated stories. Naturally, anything that we speak about in our daily lives can be insulting to ones reputation but not always can a case be made out of it.
In order to bring defamatory charges against someone certain requirements need to be present. One of the main necessities is the actual defamatory statement. This is the statement that has tendency to harm. This statement needs to be relayed to a good citizen rather than one of grim social standing, For example, a drug dealer. Once a statement is acknowledged, the identification of the person being attacked needs to be clearly recognized and broadcasted, either through libel or slander. And of course once all those requirements are undoubtedly made known, the damage, which is the hurt reputation, should become easily aware of. If all points are present, than a case can be filed. Not necessarily does the plaintiff automatically have jurisdiction over the defendant. The defendant, obviously, can defend his/her statements. Most argue that the statement wasn’t about the plaintiff. Some defenses they will take are:
(a) Truth- this requires calling an eyewitness to testify that the statements made against the plaintiff is true. This procedure is expens...