St. Amant v. Thompson
United States Supreme Court
390 U.S. 727 (1968)
Relevant factsFree
St. Amant (defendant) falsely accused deputy sheriff Thompson (plaintiff), a public official, of criminal conduct in a televised speech; the trial court and appellate court disagreed on whether St. Amant acted with actual malice under New York Times v. Sullivan, and the Louisiana Supreme Court found St. Amant liable, reasoning he had made the statement recklessly even though not knowingly false.
IssueFree
Whether a statement is made with actual malice if the speaker did not know and had no reason to know the statement was false.