Janklow v. Newsweek, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
788 F.2d 1300 (1986)
Newsweek (defendant) published an article about Janklow, South Dakota's governor and former attorney general, and activist Dennis Banks, noting that Banks had brought (later disproven) rape charges against Janklow in tribal court, and that Janklow later prosecuted Banks for a riot. Janklow (plaintiff) sued for defamation, arguing the article implied he prosecuted Banks out of revenge, when in fact he had begun proceedings before the rape allegation surfaced. The district court granted Newsweek summary judgment, finding the revenge implication was opinion; a divided appellate panel reversed, finding it factual, and Newsweek sought en banc rehearing.
Whether an imprecise statement, difficult to verify, made in a magazine, and relating to government issues, is protected speech under the First Amendment.