New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case from 1964 that established the principle of "actual malice" in defamation cases involving public figures. The case arose when a public official, L.B. Sullivan, sued the New York Times for publishing an ad that he claimed falsely depicted him. The Supreme Court ruled that for public officials to win a defamation suit, they must prove that the statements were made with actual malice—meaning they were made knowingly false or with reckless disregard for the truth—thus protecting free speech and press under the First Amendment.