1970 Supreme Court Libel Case
In 1965, an article by reporter Dorothy Sucher in the News Review published two quotations of citizen remarks at City Council meetings in which they characterized as "blackmail" the actions of Charles S. Bresler, a local real estate developer and member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Bresler filed suit in 1966, claiming that he had become "the most hated man in Greenbelt." Local volunteers formed a Freedom of the Press committee and went door to door to raise money for the paper's legal defense.
Bresler received a $17,500 libel judgment from the Prince George's County Circuit Court, which was upheld by the Maryland Court of Appeals in 1969.
In 1970, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in favor of the News Review and overturned the lower courts' judgments. The Supreme Court held "that as a matter of constitutional law, the word 'blackmail' in these circumstances was not slander when spoken, and not libel when reported in the Greenbelt News Review."
Read more about this topic: Greenbelt News Review
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