Rosenblatt v. Baer

Rosenblatt v. Baer (1966) is a U.S. Supreme Court case that clarified who can be considered a "public official" subject to a defamation lawsuit. The Court ruled that a public official is someone elected or appointed to a position of public trust, responsible for making decisions on public issues. In this case, a former school official sued a newspaper for defamation after it published negative statements about him. The Court decided that he qualified as a public official because of his role's importance and influence, meaning he had a higher burden to prove "actual malice"—knowing falsehood or reckless disregard—when suing for defamation.