Megan E. Lee
Wisconsin Judicare Inc. · Wausau
Schedule
8:30 am
: Defamation
- What is defamation?
- The essential elements of a defamation action are:
- A false statement
- Communication of the statement, and
- A tendency by the statement to harm a person’s reputation.
- Wis. Stat. 942.01
- Libel – written
- Slander – oral
- What if the plaintiff is a public figure?
- Higher burden
- Who is considered a public figure? (Including limited public figures)
- The First Amendment
- What is the ‘act’ that differentiates it from speech?
- Defamation does not apply to opinions
9:00 am
: Defamation Suits
- Demand Letters
- Court Filings
- Criminal Case vs. Civil Suit
- Relevant statutes:
9:15 am
: Defenses
- The Truth
- Absolute defense
- But...how do you prove it?
- Publication
- Statements to someone other than the defamed
- Intelligently or negligently made
- Identify the person defamed, expressly or by reasonable inference
- Public Figure
- If the plaintiff is a public figure, there must be proof of actual malice.
- Criteria to determine whether a defamation plaintiff is a public figure:
- Public controversy
- Nature of the plaintiff’s involvement in the public controversy
- Privileged From Defamation Suits
- Conditional privilege protecting communications includes:
- Those seeking to protect the communicator’s interest
- Those seeking to protect the interest of the recipient or a third person
- Those seeking to protect a common interest or a family relationship
- Those statements to a person who may act in the public interest
- Privilege can be absolute or qualified
- Statements to LEO
- Statements in confidential or privileged settings
- Permission to publish the statement granted by the plaintiff
10:10 am
: Break
10:25 am
: Victims of DVSA & Defamation
- Risk assessment of the speech versus the potential damages and costs of defending defamation suits
- Notable public examples:
- Bill Cosby
- Depp v Heard
- Brett Favre (ongoing)
- Social media & Me Too
- Does conditional privilege apply?
- What about content posted private social media groups?
- Anonymous online content
11:20 am
: Other States & The National Gaze– Where Can We Look?
- Anti-SLAPP
- Laws protecting from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation
- SLAPP lawsuits are actions initiated by a party seeking to intimidate, censor, or burden an opponent into dropping a claim or action themselves
- What states have it?
- How do other states handle defamation?
11:40 am