| Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
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Supreme Court of the United States
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Argued November 14, 1973
Decided June 25, 1974
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| Full case name:
| Elmer Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
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| Citations:
| 418 U.S. 323; 94 S. Ct. 2997; 41 L. Ed. 2d 789; 1974 U.S. LEXIS 88; 1 Media L. Rep. 1633
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| Prior history:
| Motion to dismiss denied, 306 F. Supp. 310 (N.D. Ill. 1969); judgment for plaintiff, N.D. Ill.; judgment set aside, judgment for defendant, 322 F. Supp. 997 (N.D. Ill. 1970); affirmed, 471 F.2d 801 (7th Cir. 1972); rehearing denied, 7th Circuit, 9-7-72; certiorari granted, 410 U.S. 925 (1973)
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| Subsequent history:
| Retrial on remand, judgment for plaintiff, N.D. Ill.; affirmed, 680 F.2d 527 (7th Cir. 1982); certiorari denied, 459 U.S. 1226 (1983)
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| Holding
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| The First Amendment permits states to formulate their own standards of libel for defamatory statements made about private figures, as long as liability is not imposed without fault. Seventh Circuit reversed.
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| Court membership
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| Chief Justice: Warren Burger
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| Associate Justices: William Douglas, William Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun, Lewis Powell, William Rehnquist
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| Case opinions
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| Majority by: Powell
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| Joined by: Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Rehnquist
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| Concurrence by: Blackmun
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| Dissent by: Burger
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| Dissent by: Brennan
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| Dissent by: Douglas
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| Dissent by: White
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| Laws applied
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| U.S. Const. Amend. I, XIV
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Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974), is a United States Supreme Court decision which established that opinion is not libel and actual malice is not necessary for defamation of private person if negligence is present.
The case is also important in that it held that states are free to impose liability for defamatory statements so long as they "do not impose liability without fault." This holding essentially means that strict liability for defamation is unconstitutional in the United States under the First Amendment; the plaintiff must be able to show that the defendant acted negligently or with an even higher level of mens rea. In many other common law countries, strict liability for defamation is still the rule.
See also
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