No Crimimal Libel in Free Society Require School
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OOOPINIONPINION PPLUSLUS Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 18-19, 2012 | Publisher: Taylor Wood Hayes | President: Chuck Henderson | Editor: Eli Pace | Opinion Editor: Jennifer P. Brown KY. GENERAL ASSEMBLY FIRST AMENDMENT n n No crimimal libel in free society Require school aying something untrue about a per- “tramples on the First Amendment faced the threat of criminal charges for attendance Sson may cost you later in court — rights of people to write and or post on- creating a satirical blog about a profes- but in about two dozen states it can line things that they want to post.” sor. At one point, police searched the land you in jail, too. A state Senate committee approved student’s home and seized his computer. until age 18 Libel lawsuits today in the U.S. almost the measure Feb. 14 in a first step to- Ultimately, no charges were filed and always involve a civil case brought by ward passage. the student obtained a $425,000 settle- one person against another, seeking Critics say anachronistic laws such ment against the prosecutor who had hen it comes to high school compensation for damages suffered for as criminal libel often use colorful but signed off on the search warrant. dropouts in Kentucky, one number an alleged false claim or statement. imprecise language that fails to meet The law surrounding defamation — W in particular stands out: 33. Truth almost always provides legal pro- modern constitutional tests. The Col- as with issues like cyberbullying and That’s how many students on average tection to the speaker or writer, and orado law, for example, provides for copyright protection for music — has walked out of the classroom each and without proof of malicious intent or prosecution of anyone for “any state- not fully caught up with the challenges every school day in 2010, totaling about reckless disregard for the truth, few ment … tending to blacken the mem- and promises of the Internet Age. 6,200 students over the entire year. claims prevail. ory of one who is dead, or to impeach Some argue that given the relative It’s a staggering figure, and for many of But the continued exis- the honesty, integrity, virtue, or repu- ease of widely spreading a falsehood these young adults, it’s a decision that tence in a number of tation, or expose the natural defects, of online about someone, a criminal will hinder them for the rest of their states of “criminal libel” one who is alive.” charge offers an effective means of lives, especially in an economy that now Laws in other states have aspects that punishing those with few assets to pay statutes raises the cen- all but requires a college diploma to suc- turies-old specter of are out-of-date in today’s world, such as a civil court judgment. ceed. By not graduating high school, this fines or even a prison provisions focusing on insults to women But the legal point of a defamation group will collectively earn several bil- term for writers or or that base violations on vague ideas lawsuit is lawful compensation for dam- speakers found liable for such as authoring remarks that cause a ages, not punishment. Jailing a writer lion dollars less than their other class- damaging remarks. “general breach of the peace.” or imposing a criminal conviction on a mates, and they will cost the state tens of Criminal prosecution GENE Such laws could empower a govern- speaker as a means of holding him or millions of dollars more because of for defamation extends POLICINSKI n ment official in a vendetta against news her accountable to the truth has no greater need for government services. back to Star Chamber’s operations, or those seeking to silence a place in a society based on the vigorous Over the last several years, the Ken- secret activities in England in the early blogger or punish a political opponent. exchange of strongly held views and tucky House of Representatives has 1500s, when it was used — even for true The mere threat of a criminal charge committed to the marketplace of ideas. worked with Governor Beshear, First statements — to punish insults to noble carries a chilling effect regardless of the Civil lawsuits offer the restoration of Lady Jane Beshear, the Kentucky Board egos or opposition to royal policies. relative difficulty in winning a libel ac- reputation, and in most cases compensa- of Education and other educational or- Later, such disputes were moved into tion of any kind. tion for losses, to victims whose reputa- ganizations to try to reverse that trend. open courts and touted as positive alter- An AP report cited two criminal-libel tions have been sullied unfairly. The first step in that direction is raising natives to duels over matters of per- prosecutions in Colorado in the past two Criminal-libel laws belong in our his- the dropout age from 16 — where it has sonal honor. years. In one, a man faced 18 months in tory texts, not in our law books. been since at least the In Colorado, GOP State Sen. Greg Bro- prison for sexually charged comments 1930s — to 18. phy has proposed repeal of his state’s he posted about an ex-girlfriend. The GENE POLICINSKI is senior vice president and executive director of The House has passed 19th century criminal-libel statute, charge was later reduced to harassment. the First Amendment Center, 1207 18th Ave. S., Nashville, Tenn., this several times in re- telling the Associated Press that the law In the second case, a university student 37212. His email address is [email protected]. cent years and took it up again on Thursday, in the hope that this will be the OP-ED legislative session in LOOKING BACK n n which Kentucky joins the 21 other states that have al- The Pierian Literary Club met with ready taken the same step. JOHN Marion Adams. Taxpayers in hot water If this legislation does be- TILLEY n Steven C. Woosley, son of Mr. and come law, the compulsory Mrs. Joe M. Woosley, was named a school age would rise to 17 in 2016 and United States National Award winner o doubt you’ve heard about the frog rates that basically wipe out a genera- then to 18 the following year. in the science category. feeling pretty comfortable in a tank tion of economic growth.” We know that raising the dropout age is Leslie Hightower Carroll, analyst N of cold water but ending up boiling Gov. Beshear’s administration claims not enough by itself; it will take a re- in the directorate of Contracting, was to death as the heat is gradually turned great success in cutting spending dur- newed effort to engage these students so named Employee of the Year at Fort up. ing the past few years. But that’s true they want to be better prepared for the fu- Campbell. There was no lid on top of the tank — only if you look at the common- ture. Still, that is far more preferable was named Civitan of Matt Tuitele keeping the frog from jumping out. Yet wealth’s General Fund. than letting them make a decision that the Year by the Hopkinsville Civitan he didn’t. He stayed in the tank and lit- “The General Fund is what state leg- will adversely affect them — and all of us Club. erally overheated. islators like to talk about, but it’s not by — for decades to come. Pulitzer Prize winning writer Why? Because he didn’t realize the any means all state spending; in fact, As we move forward to help these chil- Robert Penn Warren voiced displeas- danger he was in — at least not until it it’s not even a majority of state spend- dren in school, the House is also pushing ure at a suggestion to move his boy- was too late. ing,” Mitchell said. to take a closer look at children caught up hood home from Guthrie to Western The story may not be biologically ac- in the judicial system. A little more than Kentucky State University. Considering other state and federal curate, but it works metaphorically to a week ago, the chamber unanimously Scooter Lee was performing at the funds, Kentucky’s spending is up an in- describe the plight of Kentucky’s voted for my legislation to set up a task Penthouse Lounge on Fort Campbell flation-adjusted 6 percent during the re- budget and its taxpayers. Boulevard. cession. force to study several different aspects of We look at the slam-into-the-wall aus- Mikhail Baryshnikov, famed ballet “So not only does it appear that Ken- these cases. terity measures occurring in Greece – dancer, was named Man of the Year by tucky is nowhere near addressing its That includes status offenses — viola- the Harvard Hasty Pudding Theatri- and our state’s leading politicians scoff fiscal problem, it’s actually moving in tions that would not be a crime if com- cals. at such events ever hap- the opposite direction,” Mitchell said. mitted by an adult — and how best to Garland Hester, agent for Ameri- pening here. This is due largely to hefty increases handle children 10 and younger who are can General Life and Accident Insur- And they are right — in spending for entitlement programs charged with a crime. If this becomes ance Co., ranked first in sales and serv- at least partially. The in recent years. For example, Medicaid law, the task force will also better gauge ice among 315 other agents and quali- seemingly sudden eco- spending has increased by nearly 300 what effect domestic violence situations fied for the company’s elite President’s nomic catastrophe hap- percent since 1987.