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What Is Legal Slander?

Britt Archer
Britt Archer

Some people incorrectly use the terms “slander" and "libel” interchangeably, but the law makes a clear distinction between the two. Both terms refer to defamation, something untrue that is written or said, or even in some cases portrayed pictorially or visually, that will greatly harm a person’s reputation or diminish the regard others hold him in. Libel is defamation that is written, and legal slander is defamation that is said aloud.

A person who feels he has been the victim of legal slander must prove it by meeting certain criteria if he is going to sue the person or institution he feels has defamed him. The criteria include proving that at least one person, in addition to the person who believes he was slandered, also understood the statement in question in the same defamatory light. A person accused of slander or libel often can turn for recourse to a strong defense on the basis of truth; if the statement or written material is true, usually it is not considered legal slander or libel. There are other defenses, including accident and consent.

Legal slander is a form of verbal defamation.
Legal slander is a form of verbal defamation.

Another important defense against legal slander is called privilege. Privilege is conferred to witnesses testifying in a courtroom, and the same privilege applies to lawyers arguing their cases. Privilege is also afforded to legislators in certain circumstances as well as to a judge who is speaking from his bench. Another defense is opinion, meaning an argument can be made that a statement that was rendered as an opinion is not slanderous. Some courts, however, are no longer swayed by this defense.

Slander harms a person's reputation.
Slander harms a person's reputation.

The average person can be the subject of legal slander or the alleged perpetrator, and so can public figures. In the mid-1960s, however, the United States Supreme Court ruled that public figures who accuse others of legal slander or libel must prove there was malice behind the spoken or written words, and the alleged slanderer or libeler knew what he was saying was untrue. Much of legal slander laws before that time were ruled on by courts in various states according to their own state laws. There are standards for legal slander in countries other than the United States, and criteria can vary from country to country.

Slander can include hand gestures.
Slander can include hand gestures.

Many courts will acknowledge a situation called per se defamation. In this case, the court has the option of presuming harm was done to a person, such as if someone accused a person of suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. This can also pertain to slander against someone’s professional standing, or slander against someone’s morals as judged by community standards.

Discussion Comments

idoswear2

What if it is a true statement and it is spoken to keep others from being victimized as well?

amypollick

@anon252973: I've worked for a newspaper for nearly 20 years, and as I understand the slander definitions, a person has to make a more specific allegation for a statement to meet the criteria of slander.

Calling someone a "bimbo" (to use a less pejorative word than Limbaugh did) is calling someone an ugly name. He didn't say he "knew" she was a bimbo because he knew she slept around, or whatever. He didn't cite a specific instance of Ms. Fluke being promiscuous, and I doubt anyone listening felt he had some specific knowledge which made it anything other than him calling her an ugly name. He was just (to use a good Bill O'Reilly word) "bloviating," and I think people understood that, even if some may have said under their breath, "Yeah, she probably is a bimbo." That still doesn't rise to the level of slander, and certainly, she hasn't suffered any harm from it. On the contrary, she has garnered a great deal of sympathy and support.

So even though it was a rude, crude and socially unacceptable thing to say, and certainly not something anyone with any home training should say about someone he doesn't know, it wasn't slander.

anon252973

As a journalist turned blogger, on the Rush Limbaugh comments regarding a young law student testifying to the evolution of contraceptives for treatment of women's diseases and not just contraceptive purposes, supplying proof that insurance should continue to cover the drug, I have a question.

Why has no mainstream media used the term slander in direct correlation to the comments he made about Ms. Fluke? They were indeed slanderous and defamatory without proof of their validity.

My AP Stylebook is about 10 years old. I have ordered a 2011 version but it is in transit.

I am working on a blog entry regarding this latest attack by this radio personality on an individual without proof that she is what he says. Could you please advise?

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    • Legal slander is a form of verbal defamation.
      By: Andrey Burmakin
      Legal slander is a form of verbal defamation.
    • Slander harms a person's reputation.
      By: Gernot Krautberger
      Slander harms a person's reputation.
    • Slander can include hand gestures.
      By: hin255
      Slander can include hand gestures.
    • In the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public figures must prove malice when they accuse someone of legal slander.
      By: Gary Blakeley
      In the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public figures must prove malice when they accuse someone of legal slander.
    • In the case of per se defamation, the court will have the option of presuming harm was done to an individual, such as if someone accused another of suffering from a sexually transmitted disease.
      By: zagorodnaya
      In the case of per se defamation, the court will have the option of presuming harm was done to an individual, such as if someone accused another of suffering from a sexually transmitted disease.