Martin Luther King and Defamation on the Web: You Can't Defame the Dead

Image via WikipediaI learned something interesting and heart-breaking about defamation. I learned that under the law, you cannot defame the dead. In other words, once someone is dead you can legally say anything you want about them, even print falsehoods, and be protected from legal ramifications.

The reason this is relevant is because today is the day that many across the USA honor the memory of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. A white supremacy group bought the domain mlk.org, and has posted historically inaccurate and hateful speech about the man. Though the family of Dr. King may have a lawsuit due to 'squatters rights', they likely do not when it comes to the defamation of Dr. King.

This would also explain why so many come out with 'tell-all' books once someone has passed away. They can print any ugly, vile, malicious thing they want about the person in question.

How does this apply to you? If you have printed something factual but not pretty about someone who is deceased, you likely have legal protection. It also means that when gathering research about those who are deceased you should use extreme care in which sources you utilize. Those published after the death of the individual may not be accurate.

Source:
Fox News Video - Dethroning the King


If the video does not work, please try this link.

Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment

Image via Wikipedia As a writer, one of the first things I was taught in journalism was the First Amendment. Many people misunderstand it, but as a writer, your job, your credibility, and your finances depend upon knowing it well.

The First Amendment reads:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Though it is commonly known as the ‘free speech’ amendment, with great freedom comes great responsibility, and not all speech is equal. A very famous quote about free speech comes from US Supreme Court Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841 – 1935, pictured above), “ You are not free to yell ‘fire’ in a crowded movie theater.”

In accordance with this, several types of speech are NOT protected under the first amendment, and in my opinion, nor should they be. They include:

Libel (defamation of character in writing)
Slander (defamation of character orally)
Hate speech (defamation of a particular race, religion, group, etc)
The Heckler’s Veto (a ‘heckler’ drowning out the speech of someone with their heckling to the point of disrupting the meeting)
Fighting Words (speech that inflames listeners to violence)
Obscenity (the legal definition of obscenity is still a bit of a gray area that is hotly debated, but generally is understood to be ‘adult’ material that when taken as a whole has no redeeming social features)

*Please note I am not an attorney, nor a constitutional expert. I have explained these concepts and legalities as I understand them as a writer, and as brief research into my understanding of these issues has confirmed them to be true. I welcome any additions or clarifications from anyone with a more in-depth knowledge of these matters.