Justice Clarence Thomas wants the Supreme Court to revisit the definition of libel. On Monday, Thomas dissented on a decision involving a Christian media group that sought to sue the Southern Law Poverty Center (SLPC) for characterizing them as a “hate group.”
For years, Thomas has urged SCOTUS to revisit the landmark First Amendment decision, New York Times vs. Sullivan which set strict standards for public figures who can claim libel. A ruling of that magnitude would pave the way for people to sue media organizations for publishing or broadcasting statements that damage one’s reputation.
According to the Washington Examiner, Coral Ridge Ministries Media Inc. attempted to sue the SLPC but the case was dismissed by lower courts because “it failed to overcome the standards set by Sullivan.
“This case is one of many showing how New York Times and its progeny have allowed media organizations and interest groups ‘to cast false aspersions on public figures with near impunity,’” Thomas wrote in the dissent.
Thomas argued that SPLC’s “hate group” designation lumped Coral Ridge’s Christian Ministry with groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
“It placed Coral Ridge on an interactive, online “Hate Map” and caused Coral Ridge concrete financial injury by excluding it from the AmazonSmile donation program,” said Thomas.
Coral Ridge applied to receive donations through AmazonSmile, a separate portal from Amazon’s main site which donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchase to the charity of your choice.
Other noteworthy defamation/libel cases include the recent Johnny Depp and Amber Heard cases where Depp was seeking to recoup damages from a 2018 Washington Post op-ed penned by Heard who he claims cost him a chance to further his legacy with the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Also, former 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin sued the New York Times for linking her political action committee to the 2011 shooting of former Arizona Gabriel Gifford.
