Sullivan v. New York Times Co.

Sullivan v. New York Times Co. (1964) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established the "actual malice" standard for defamation cases involving public figures. The Court ruled that for a public official to win a libel suit, they must prove the statement was made with knowledge of falsehood or with reckless disregard for the truth. This decision protects free speech and open debate about public officials, even if some false statements are made, as long as there's no malicious intent. It significantly lowered the legal barrier for criticizing public figures.