ABSTRACT
The Supreme Court in the past decade has created an entirely new system of liability for defamation. Until 1964, when New York Times Co. v. Sullivan1 was decided, the victim of a defamatory statement was entitled to recover unless the defendant could prove the truth of his statement-and sometimes his good motives as well2-or establish that he had a privilege -to publish the statement in question and had not abused that privilege.3 Malice was presumed,4 as, in many cases, was damage to the victim’s reputation.5 The publisher’s care was im-
material; he could be liable even though he had exercised every con ceivable precaution.6 This was assumed to be of no first amendment concern, because the Court had said repeatedly in dicta »that libelous words were not protected by the Constitution.7
