Rethinking The Public Figure Doctrine In Libel Law

The article is a review of the public figure doctrine in U.S.libel law.The doctrine has largely changed the picture of libel law.In particular,it provides an approach to protecting free expression of the public,especially the press.The doctrine originates in the cases of the U.S.Supreme Court.The Court's opinions written by the Justices form the intact and most convincing explication of the doctrine,as well as the source of the relevant verdicts in courts of all levels.The article first sorts out 25 libel cases of the Court in which the doctrine is applied.Among them,20 cases are related to media.After that,based on the background,causes of action,the Court's proceeding and relevant academic materials,the article,on one hand,gives a whole view of the achievement of the doctrine in both substantive and procedural dimensions.On the other hand,the article reflects on the doctrine from two points:the disfunction of the doctrine as a mechanism and whether it should be introduced to China.As a crossing field,libel law has been of concern for scholars in both law study and communication study.The article pays special attention to the role and position of the press in libel issue.The elaboration of the doctrine eventually ends with the lessons to journalistic education and building of moral and ethnic norms of news profession in China.Literature review is the main method of the article.The main research subject is the Court's libel cases concerning the public figure doctrine.The written judgments are acquired from the database of HeinOnline,including briefs of the court,opinions of the court,concurring opinions and dissenting opinions.Academically,law reviews of law schools across the United States and other publications of scholars and institutes are examined.Besides,cases of lower courts in the United States and experiences of other countries also support the discussion.The first chapter Libel Cases of the U.S.Supreme Court Concerning the Public Figure Doctrine presents the procedures of sorting out the relevant cases.The chapter first answers why the cases of the Supreme Court are taken as the main research subject.Then it presents the procedures of search,comparison and screening of the cases.After that,a list is made to show the parties,results and main establishments of rules of the cases.The second chapter The Substantive and Procedural Dimensions of the Public Figure Doctrine examines the framework of the doctrine in both dimensions.It focuses on several core issues:substantive-wise,the boundary of the doctrine and the liability fixation;procedural-wise,the burden of proof and the standards of proving actual malice.Meanwhile,inevitably,issues as remedies and proof of loss are also part of the discussion.The third chapter Reflection on the Public Figure Doctrine brings up two problems.Firstly,in The Disfunctioning Mechanism,the article figures out the troubles that have occurred during operation of the doctrine.In fact,the U.S.libel law fails to efficiently protect both reputation and the breathing space of the press.The article points out the tricky phenomenon and the reasons leading to that.Secondly,in A Comparative Point of View,the article answers whether the doctrine should be introduced to China through comparison of legal institutions and judicial practices in both countries.The article finds that huge obstacles would lie ahead if the doctrine were introduced to China.Nevertheless,the experience of the doctrine is still of profound meaning to the judicial and journalistic practices in China,especially for the latter one.