{"id":1944102,"date":"2023-06-05T03:29:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T07:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-scotuss-sullivan-ruling-denies-victims-the-right-to-defend-themselves-from-the-rich-and-powerful\/"},"modified":"2023-06-05T03:35:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T07:35:21","slug":"how-scotuss-sullivan-ruling-denies-victims-the-right-to-defend-themselves-from-the-rich-and-powerful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-scotuss-sullivan-ruling-denies-victims-the-right-to-defend-themselves-from-the-rich-and-powerful\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS&#8217;s Sullivan Ruling denies victims self-defense against the wealthy."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-scotuss-sullivan-ruling-denies-victims-the-right-to-defend-themselves-from-the-rich-and-powerful%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1944102&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The People&#8217;s Justice: Katherine McKee&#8217;s Fight Against Bill Cosby<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>The following is an excerpt from the author\u2019s forthcoming book, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regnery.com\/9781684514526\/the-peoples-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The People\u2019s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him<\/a><em>, about the events surrounding the <\/em>McKee v. Cosby<em> case and Supreme Court jurisprudence.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When other women started accusing Bill Cosby of crimes, Katherine McKee\u2019s trauma flooded back with unexpected force. What she had tried to block from her mind was now staring her in the face. She assumed her attack was an isolated incident, but now she knew she wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1360785553\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>McKee became especially enraged by how Cosby and his people retaliated against these women. Hadn\u2019t he already taken enough from his victims? McKee knew Cosby had to be stopped, and she was confident that truth and justice were on her side. However, the time to press criminal charges had expired. McKee\u2019s only option for justice was in the court of public opinion. In December 2014, she spoke with Nancy Dillon of the New York Daily News, and Dillon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/news\/national\/bill-cosby-accused-raping-ex-girlfriend-sammy-davis-jr-article-1.2052890\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published McKee\u2019s story<\/a> on Dec. 22, 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Cosby didn\u2019t take the allegations lightly. Instead, he implemented a \u201cscorched-earth strategy\u201d against his accusers, and McKee was no exception. Following the release of the New York Daily News story, Cosby\u2019s lawyer sent a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/17\/17-1542\/45213\/20180501102033549_Appendix%20to%20Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to the paper accusing McKee of being a liar and engaging in \u201creckless conduct.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The letter claimed that the newspaper had \u201crecklessly labeled as \u2018rape\u2019 an alleged sexual encounter in the 1970\u2019s during which \u2026 the accuser never objected, never said no, did not attempt to end the encounter, went to a party that night with her alleged attacker (and drove him to the party in her own car), and remained his friend and traded on his name for 40 years.\u201d The letter also accused the paper of failing to investigate McKee\u2019s allegedly damning background \u2014 \u201cTo say that Ms. McKee is not a reliable source is a gross understatement. Ample published information readily available to the Daily News completely undermines this story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McKee was undeterred by this attempt to besmirch her character. Instead, in December 2015, she <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/17\/17-1542\/45213\/20180501102033549_Appendix%20to%20Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a complaint<\/a> (later amended) alleging that Cosby had engaged in defamation by having his lawyers falsely call her a liar in the press. As a result of Cosby\u2019s lawyer\u2019s work, some of the defamatory information was \u201cpublished and disseminated broadly to the world at large, through the internet, television, and through other newsprint organizations to a very broad community.\u201d Cosby\u2019s goal, she alleged, was to discredit her \u201cand to damage her reputation for truthfulness and honesty, and further to embarrass, harass, humiliate, intimidate, and shame\u201d her. McKee wanted her day in court to prove that she was telling the truth and that Cosby and his hired guns were liars.<\/p>\n<p>However, a dated yet still-standing Supreme Court case makes it difficult for anyone in the public eye to sue for defamation. In <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/supremecourt\/text\/376\/254\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York Times v. Sullivan<\/a><\/em>, the Supreme Court ruled that public figures can recover from defamation only if they show that the defendant acted with \u201cactual malice.\u201d In other words, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant knew the reputation-attacking statement was false or recklessly disregarded its falsehood. This standard is \u201calmost impossible\u201d to meet.<\/p>\n<p>McKee found herself in the crosshairs of the <em>Sullivan<\/em> decision. <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/418\/323\/#tab-opinion-1950909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">According to the Supreme Court<\/a>, a person who \u201cvoluntarily injects\u201d herself into a controversy can become a public figure for a \u201climited range of issues.\u201d And the trial court had found that by talking to a reporter about Cosby\u2019s alleged assault, McKee had done just that. She had become a \u201climited-purpose public figure.\u201d Thus, the trial court dismissed the action. The court of appeals agreed and said that by speaking \u201cwith a reporter, McKee thrust herself to the forefront of this controversy, seeking to influence its outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McKee\u2019s only remaining option was a Hail Mary pass: to seek review by the Supreme Court. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/17\/17-1542\/45213\/20180501102009877_Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari%20ONLY.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">In her petition to the court<\/a>, McKee argued that her minimal interactions with a reporter did not make her a \u201cpublic figure.\u201d She did not ask the court to overrule<em> New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em>. Rather, her petition claimed that the lower courts had applied the precedent incorrectly.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for McKee, the Supreme Court does not typically review cases on the basis of a lower-court error. Generally, the court only hears cases when the law is unclear or if a party asks the court to overrule precedent. McKee\u2019s petition didn\u2019t do that, and the court declined to hear her case.<\/p>\n<h3>Justice Clarence Thomas&#8217;s Take<\/h3>\n<p>Unlike the rest of the court, Justice Clarence Thomas wasn\u2019t ready to let the case go without <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/18pdf\/17-1542_ihdk.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">comment<\/a>. He agreed with McKee that the lower courts had applied the <em>Sullivan<\/em> precedent incorrectly and that the decision had \u201cstrayed from the text of the First Amendment.\u201d Thomas argued that the <em>Sullivan<\/em> decision had created a \u201cpolicy-driven\u201d standard that was not supported by the Constitution. He also criticized the court for failing to take up McKee\u2019s case, stating that the court\u2019s refusal to hear the case \u201csends a message that there are no circumstances under which a public figure can be held accountable for defamation in a state court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Clarence Thomas Calls for Revisiting New York Times v. Sullivan<\/h2>\n<p>In a recent opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued that it was time to revisit the precedent set by <em>New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em>, which dismissed a defamation case brought by Kathrine McKee against Bill Cosby. While Thomas acknowledged that the court should not have waded into the dispute about whether McKee was a \u201climited-public figure,\u201d he criticized the \u201cactual-malice\u201d standard applied to public figures in <em>Sullivan<\/em> as \u201cpolicy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201c<em>New York Times<\/em> and the Court\u2019s decisions extending it were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Thomas argued that the Constitution allowed states to define defamation until <em>New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em> was announced in 1964. He criticized the decision for distorting the common law at the time of the founding, which deemed false statements against public figures to be \u201cmore serious and injurious\u201d than those against private figures. Thomas believes that states are capable of striking a balance between encouraging public discourse and providing a meaningful remedy for reputational harm.<\/p>\n<h3>Real-World Harms<\/h3>\n<p>Thomas also recognizes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebook-sued-over-alleged-responsibility-in-killing-of-federal-officer\/\" title=\"Facebook Sued Over Alleged Responsibility In Killing Of Federal Officer\">real-world harms<\/a> that <em>Sullivan<\/em> poses to people like McKee. Even in a small community, a person with some degree of prominence has essentially no recourse against false accusations. Thomas reminded the court that <em>Sullivan<\/em> had denied McKee the right \u201cto defend her reputation in court simply because she accused a powerful man of rape.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Overruling New York Times v. Sullivan<\/h3>\n<p>Since <em>McKee v. Cosby<\/em>, Thomas has consistently called for the overruling of <em>New York Times v. Sullivan<\/em>. He believes that instead of \u201cinsulating those who perpetrate lies,\u201d we should give them only the protection the First Amendment requires. Thomas continues to issue solo opinions each time the court denies litigants the opportunity to revisit <em>Sullivan<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3>Case in Point<\/h3>\n<p>In a recent case, a Christian nonprofit organization was labeled \u201can anti-LGBT hate group\u201d by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As a result, Amazon barred the group from receiving donations through AmazonSmile, costing the group a significant amount of money. The nonprofit sued, claiming that the \u201chate group\u201d label was defamatory and caused them material harm. However, the organization was considered a \u201cpublic figure,\u201d and it could not meet the \u201calmost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-case-challenging-actual-malice-defamation-standard-thomas-dissents\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rejects Case Challenging \u2018Actual Malice\u2019 Defamation Standard; Thomas Dissents\">impossible\u201d actual-malice standard<\/a> to sue for defamation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">Amul Thapar is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and graduated from Boston College and the University of California at Berkeley Law School. Before becoming an appeals court judge, he served as a federal prosecutor and trial judge. He regularly teaches at Notre Dame, the University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt. He and his wife have three children and live in Northern Kentucky.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bill-cosby\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bill Cosby<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defamation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">defamation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/justice-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Justice Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/new-york-times-v-sullivan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">New York Times v. Sullivan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/public-figures\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">public figures<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reputation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">reputation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Discover the Magic of HTML Formatting<\/h2>\n<p>Are you tired of plain and boring text? Spice up your content with HTML formatting! With just a few simple tags, you can make your text stand out and engage your readers.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>What is HTML?<\/h3>\n<p>HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It is the standard language used to create web pages. HTML tags are used to format text, add images, create links, and more.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>How to Use HTML Formatting<\/h3>\n<p>Here are some basic HTML tags you can use to enhance your content:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><b><\/b> &#8211; Bold text<\/li>\n<li><i><i><\/i> &#8211; Italic text<\/li>\n<li><u><u><\/u> &#8211; Underlined text<\/li>\n<li>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote><\/blockquote>\n<p> &#8211; Blockquote text<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p> &#8211; Heading text<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#\"><a><\/a> &#8211; Link text<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By using these tags, you can create visually appealing content that will capture your readers&#8217; attention. So why settle for plain text when you can add some magic with HTML formatting?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>experienced in the 1970s was no longer a secret. In 2014, she joined the growing list of accusers. Her case against Cosby was dismissed, but it raised important questions about the statute of limitations and the power dynamics of sexual assault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2102,"featured_media":1944103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4775,5782,28298,11684,6700,4931,12268],"class_list":["post-1944102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-denies","tag-ruling","tag-scotuss","tag-self-defense","tag-sullivan","tag-victims","tag-wealthy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1944102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1944103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1944102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1944102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1944102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}