Kalven Jr., Harry. The New York Times Case: A Note on “The Central Meaning of the First Amendment,” 1964 Sup. Ct. Rev. 191

Abstract

Imagining an America in which officials in the highest positions of federal government support laws that criminalize the speech of their critics is not difficult. Not only were such laws passed in 1798 and 1917-18, assaults on First Amendment culture have extended into the twenty-first century. To punish his critics, for example, then-candidate Donald Trump pledged to “open up” libel laws. The ruling most responsible for narrowing libel law and limiting the success of public official plaintiffs was New York Times Co. v. Sullivan Co. A landmark analysis of the ruling followed. Taking Justice William Brennan’s opinion, Harry Kalven Jr. extracted a small phrase and breathed life into the large concept that remains as vital and