PUR 3000 Intro to Public Relations E2Lecture NotesChapter 7 – Public Relations Law*Exam: remember cases and their precedents First Amendment Considerations- Schenck v. United States—Clear and Present Danger Testo Schenck = secretary of American socialist party; created pamphlets about the draft – “if you’re drafted, DON’T GO!”o (convicted under federal law) confiscated pamphlets before they were distributed and said he violated the Espionage Act – can’t advocate for overthrow of government o Claimed he was protected by first amendment o Ruling: convicted/guilty Ruled this way because country would’ve been in serious danger if people didn’t serve in the army since we’re at war. It was a clear and present danger to the threat of the countryo Outcome: Clear and Present Danger Test Anytime a publication comes to court, we’ll test it with this because of this case. Ruling also depends on the time (today, pamphlets probably wouldn’t be taken)- Gitlow v. New York—Due Processo Gitlow = created pamphlets and arrested, convicted under state law Does federal court have jurisdiction over state laws?- 14th Amendment – supreme court has jurisdiction over state, local and federal laws; can’t deprive someone of life, liberty or pursuit of happiness-Near v. Minnesota—changed the Clear and Present Danger Test (censorship case)o Near = tabloid that said mean things about people (different races, Jewish people, etc.)o Arrested for violating nucence statue. What about freedom of speech?o Conviction overturnedo Outcome: this case replaced Clear and Present Danger Test with the Near Test Near Test – 3 times when court will uphold censorship (before speech made):1. If obsceneObscenity – whether to the average person (jury of your peers) applying the contemporary standards of the community (standards can change over time and range in communities) the dominate theme of the material taken as a whole (look at work in its entirety) appeals to the pruint interest in sex (pruint = creates an unnatural craving for sex)2. Incitement to violenceEx: Can’t yell fire in crowded theatre3. Threat to national securityDoes this literally mean during time of war?- PR licensing – people think it’s an abridgement of first amendment- First amendment = written for the people, not the newspapers- 10 Amendments (BOR) = sales job for Constitution- Censorship – prior restraint; stopping speech before it’s made; criminal offense to broadcast obscene comments- Court says if we have to choose, we’ll let you air your work and then decide if it’s bado 18-US-c1462 – printo 18-US-c1464 – electronic- John Twine – book written about the rights of people; was the publisher (didn’t even write it) and got in trouble1PUR 3000 Intro to Public Relations E2Lecture Notes- Redrup v. New Yorko Among the 9 of us (supreme court), we can’t agree on what obscenity is so not going to convict anyone unless: Non-consenting adults Minors protected Pandered – using sensational technology to sell itInvestor Relations- Rule 10b-5 of Securities and Exchange Acto No dissemination of false or misleading information to investors Can’t tell investors about all these good things the company is doing if they’re not; can’t mislead the publico Prohibits insider trading of securities based on material not disclosed to the public Can’t buy or sell stock based on what you know but public doesn’t – not fair- Ex: Martha StewartDefamation of Character- Tort: any civil wrong other than a breach of contractCriminal laws: pay fine, jail, deathContract laws: agreements that people or orgs make with each otherTort laws: anything else that’s civilo Corporations and companies have “character” 2 sub torts: 1. Libel – writtenIn most states, if spoken remark comes from a prepared text, it’s libelEx: newscaster reading the prompter2. Slander – spokenCan’t get punitive damages ($) for slander unless:- Remark made caused individual/business to lose money. Has to be proven and remark needs to be false. o Ex: Madison Social – cockroach- If you impugn the chastity of a female, she may collect damages as long as it’s untrue.o Ex: She’s no virgin.Elements of LibelHave to prove 5 elements exist to prove libel.Only exception = obituary – fathered two illegitimate daughters and gave their names, sued, court said even though it wasn’t true since birth certificate was wrong from beginning, judge sided with plaintiffs (women)- Publication – prove remark was publishedo Disseminated for mass consumption Magazine, billboards, ads, newspapers NEED: person who said + person who it was about + 1 more person (3 people) Shepard v. Lampher – wrote letter to Mrs. Shepard saying really bad things (sexual behavior), she filed suit- Ruling: judge threw out case because she voluntarily published the letter by showing it to her neighbor- Identification – it has to readily identify someone and needs to be specific John B. Jones at 123 Sesame Street (because other John Jones’ could sue if not)o Group membership – group needs to be small enough so that everyone is readily identified2PUR 3000 Intro to Public Relations E2Lecture Notes Neiman Marcus v. Laite – Laite published tabloid and reported that male designers were homos, the floor models were prostitutes and sales girls were call girls; sales girls didn’t collect because there were too many of them- Real Defamation (one of three)Can tell lies all day long, as long as you’re not damaging their reputation (i.e. lose job):o Personal reputationo Professional reputationo Social contact – impeding someone’s right to have social contact with other people Aids- Unprivileged occasion o Absolute privilege: privilege of the participant Privilege of individual as part of public official preceding. May be asked questions that cause you to damage someone’s rep- Ex: witness in murder trial – “Did Smith kill Jones?” – you called him a murderer(defamatory remark) but you’re protected- McCarthy – on the floor of the Senate called people defamatory names even though off topic – he was a part of public official preceding so was protected even though things he said were mean and unrelated.- Allowed in court of law, meetings of committees, Senate (if you’ve been called to testify)o Qualified privilege: privilege of the reporter Privilege extended to news media to cover official preceding
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