Courtroom or Soapbox - Observations on the Role of Law in Vindicating Reputation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|The restoration of a damaged reputation may be of greater importance to the person who has been defamed than the recovery of damages. The immediate objective of many, if not most, defamation plaintiffs is not to win monetary relief, but to set the record straight. Such reputational concerns are of particular importance to individuals defamed in connection with public or political activities. Traditionally, the law has played an important role in the vindication of reputation. The mere prosecution of a civil defamation action has assisted plaintiffs in legitimizing their claims of falsity. In essence, the defamation action has provided the plaintiff with credibility and with a forum for communicating with the community. Constitutional limitations on the defamation torts, however, have denied this important part of the vindication process to many injured parties. In particular, public figures and officials whose principal concern is most likely to be the restoration of reputation have been left with no recourse to the law for vindication in the absence of constitutional actual malice...