Changes

'''''New York Times Company v. Sullivan''''', 376 U.S. 254 (1964), arose from a chief of police suing the [[New York Times]] for libel in reporting on civil rights protests. The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled that a ''public official'' seeking [[libel]] damages for a matter relating to his official conduct must prove that the false statement about him had been made with ''actual malice'' that is, with conscious knowledge that the statement was false or with ''[[reckless disregard]]'' for whether it was or not. The Court held that, otherwise, the press or other critics would be restrained from speaking or writing for fear they could not readily demonstrate that what they had said was true.

'''''New York Times Company v. Sullivan''''', 376 U.S. 254 (1964) is a landmark case which arose from a chief of police suing the [[New York Times]] for libel in reporting on civil rights protests. The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruled that a ''public official'' seeking [[libel]] damages for a matter relating to his official conduct must prove that the false statement about him had been made with ''actual malice'' that is, with conscious knowledge that the statement was false or with ''[[reckless disregard]]'' for whether it was or not. The Court held that, otherwise, the press or other critics would be restrained from speaking or writing for fear they could not readily demonstrate that what they had said was true.

==Background==

==Background==