Is Freedom of Speech, Freedom From Consequence? New York's Law of Libel
The law of defamation has morphed into a federal line of cases with shifting emphasis and vague precedence.
April 28, 2021 at 10:15 AM
14 minute read
"I would exchange my liberty of abusing others for the privilege of not being abused myself."
—Benjamin Franklin, 1789
In one of the largest and most significant libel suits ever brought in this state, a company named Smartmatic alleges that certain Fox News hosts and others have falsely disparaged its election technology and software and defamed its corporation by accusing it of being part of a conspiracy that had switched votes from Trump to Biden. Fox News, in its response, claims that it is protected by the First Amendment "free speech" guarantee of the U.S. Constitution and the safeguards created by the U.S. Supreme Court. The viability of the libel case of Smartmatic v. Fox News will be decided in New York courts applying the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as New York's common law—that is, the precedence established by New York courts concerning defamation.
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