JOMC 486 UNL FINAL PAPER QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔fighting words - ✔✔which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an
immediate breach of the peace; US Supreme Court declared regulation of fighting
words must be content neutral; fighting words are outside First Amendment
✔✔Characteristics of fighting words - ✔✔personal insults likely to provoke violent
response; spoken in a face-to-face situation; concern is whether the recipient of the
words will respond with violence against the speaker
✔✔R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul - ✔✔
✔✔Characteristics of Seditious Speech - ✔✔calls for political, social or economic
change through violent, unlawful means; may be spoken or written; concern is whether
the recipients of the words will commit violent or illegal acts against third parties
✔✔Prior Restraints - ✔✔preventing publication; publication must inevitably, directly and
immediately cause harm to nation security in order to be constitutional
✔✔Elements of Libel - ✔✔Defamation
Identification
Publication
Falsity
Injury
Fault
✔✔Defamation - ✔✔tens to so harm the reputation of another so as: to lower him or her
in the estimation of the community, or deter third persons from associating or doing
business with him
✔✔Defamation per se - ✔✔The words are defamatory on their face
ex: Criminal conduct professional incompetence, sexual immorality, a loathsome
disease
✔✔Defamation per quod - ✔✔A facially innocent statement becomes defamatory when
it is combined with unstated facts known to the audience. If statements are defamatory
per quod, the plaintiff must prove special damages
✔✔Defamation by implication - ✔✔Although every fact in a publication may be true, the
arrangement of the facts or the omission of some facts creates a false and defamatory
impression
Public officials and public figures must prove publisher knew or had a high degree of
awareness of the false implication
Private individuals must prove only negligence
, ✔✔T or F Falsity does not make a statement defamatory. - ✔✔True. The statement
must injure reputation to be actionable
✔✔Identification - ✔✔a libel plaintiff must prove that the allegedly defamatory statement
is "of and concerning" him or her; requires showing that the recipient of the statement
correctly or mistakenly (but reasonably) understood the statement to refer to the plaintiff
✔✔publication - ✔✔communication, intentionally or negligently, to someone other than
the person defamed; one who republishes defamatory facts is liable
✔✔1996 telecommunications act (communications decency act) - ✔✔Sec 230 of the act
says no provider of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publishers of
any info provided by others
✔✔Injury - ✔✔In many cases, the plaintiff must produce evidence of actual injury.
This can mean loss of reputation, mental anguish, humiliation
Plaintiffs often must show the defamation caused the injury
Injury is presumed if the publication was a knowing or reckless falsehood (actual
malice)
✔✔Types of damage - ✔✔Actual, special, presumed, punitive, nominal
✔✔Actual damage - ✔✔Compensate plaintiff for injury to reputation; hurt feelings,
humiliation. Must be supported by evidence
✔✔Special damage - ✔✔compensation for real, tangible, pecuniary loss (lost business,
lost wages or salary, etc.) Must be supported by proof and may not include projected or
future losses
✔✔presumed damages - ✔✔Damages a plaintiff can get without providing any injury.
Libel law used to allow juries to presume injury, Now, presumed damages can be
awarded only on a showing of actual malice
✔✔punitive damage - ✔✔Intended to punish bad conduct on the part of the defendant
and deter such conduct in the future (not allowed in NE)
✔✔Nominal - ✔✔A small award made when there has been a breach of duty but no
substantial harm to the plaintiff
✔✔Falsity - ✔✔Plaintiffs must prove that the defamatory statements are false in all
cases where the plaintiff is a public official or public figure or where the plaintiff is a
private individual and the defamatory statement is a matter of public concern
ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔fighting words - ✔✔which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an
immediate breach of the peace; US Supreme Court declared regulation of fighting
words must be content neutral; fighting words are outside First Amendment
✔✔Characteristics of fighting words - ✔✔personal insults likely to provoke violent
response; spoken in a face-to-face situation; concern is whether the recipient of the
words will respond with violence against the speaker
✔✔R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul - ✔✔
✔✔Characteristics of Seditious Speech - ✔✔calls for political, social or economic
change through violent, unlawful means; may be spoken or written; concern is whether
the recipients of the words will commit violent or illegal acts against third parties
✔✔Prior Restraints - ✔✔preventing publication; publication must inevitably, directly and
immediately cause harm to nation security in order to be constitutional
✔✔Elements of Libel - ✔✔Defamation
Identification
Publication
Falsity
Injury
Fault
✔✔Defamation - ✔✔tens to so harm the reputation of another so as: to lower him or her
in the estimation of the community, or deter third persons from associating or doing
business with him
✔✔Defamation per se - ✔✔The words are defamatory on their face
ex: Criminal conduct professional incompetence, sexual immorality, a loathsome
disease
✔✔Defamation per quod - ✔✔A facially innocent statement becomes defamatory when
it is combined with unstated facts known to the audience. If statements are defamatory
per quod, the plaintiff must prove special damages
✔✔Defamation by implication - ✔✔Although every fact in a publication may be true, the
arrangement of the facts or the omission of some facts creates a false and defamatory
impression
Public officials and public figures must prove publisher knew or had a high degree of
awareness of the false implication
Private individuals must prove only negligence
, ✔✔T or F Falsity does not make a statement defamatory. - ✔✔True. The statement
must injure reputation to be actionable
✔✔Identification - ✔✔a libel plaintiff must prove that the allegedly defamatory statement
is "of and concerning" him or her; requires showing that the recipient of the statement
correctly or mistakenly (but reasonably) understood the statement to refer to the plaintiff
✔✔publication - ✔✔communication, intentionally or negligently, to someone other than
the person defamed; one who republishes defamatory facts is liable
✔✔1996 telecommunications act (communications decency act) - ✔✔Sec 230 of the act
says no provider of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publishers of
any info provided by others
✔✔Injury - ✔✔In many cases, the plaintiff must produce evidence of actual injury.
This can mean loss of reputation, mental anguish, humiliation
Plaintiffs often must show the defamation caused the injury
Injury is presumed if the publication was a knowing or reckless falsehood (actual
malice)
✔✔Types of damage - ✔✔Actual, special, presumed, punitive, nominal
✔✔Actual damage - ✔✔Compensate plaintiff for injury to reputation; hurt feelings,
humiliation. Must be supported by evidence
✔✔Special damage - ✔✔compensation for real, tangible, pecuniary loss (lost business,
lost wages or salary, etc.) Must be supported by proof and may not include projected or
future losses
✔✔presumed damages - ✔✔Damages a plaintiff can get without providing any injury.
Libel law used to allow juries to presume injury, Now, presumed damages can be
awarded only on a showing of actual malice
✔✔punitive damage - ✔✔Intended to punish bad conduct on the part of the defendant
and deter such conduct in the future (not allowed in NE)
✔✔Nominal - ✔✔A small award made when there has been a breach of duty but no
substantial harm to the plaintiff
✔✔Falsity - ✔✔Plaintiffs must prove that the defamatory statements are false in all
cases where the plaintiff is a public official or public figure or where the plaintiff is a
private individual and the defamatory statement is a matter of public concern
