A public figure is a person who has achieved fame, prominence or notoriety within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own.
In the context of
defamation actions (libel and slander) as well as
invasion of privacy, a public figure cannot succeed in a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements in the United States unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with
actual malice by knowing the falsity or by reckless disregard for the truth. The legal
burden of proof in defamation actions is thus higher in the case of a public figure than in the case of an ordinary person.
Libel
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
laws vary considerably on this matter from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Even within a cultural grouping, the libel laws of the UK are quite different from those in the US, for example.
United States
The controlling
precedent
Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...
in the United States was set in 1964 by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in ''
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan'', which is considered a key decision in supporting the
First Amendment and
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
.
A fairly high threshold of public activity is necessary to elevate people to a public figure status. Typically, they must either be:
* a public figure, a public official or any other person pervasively involved in public affairs, or
* a limited purpose public figure, according to ''
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.'', is a person who has "thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved.", or engaged in actions to generate publicity within a narrow area of interest.
* a involuntary public figure, is an individual who has become a public figure as a result of publicity, although they may or may not have voluntarily sought it out. This can include victims of crime, as well as those who commit crimes or are accused of it.
Discussion of a person on the Internet may at times rise to the level that it causes the subject of discussion to be treated as an involuntary public figure.
Corporations are not automatically treated as public figures, and defamation claims made by corporations are evaluated under the same standard as those made by individuals.
See also
* ''
Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts'' (1967)
* ''
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell'' (1988)
Further reading
* Adams, Kate M.
(Re)defining Public Officials and Public Figures: A Washington State Primer"
Archive ''
Seattle University Law Review''.
Seattle University School of Law. Vol 23:1155-2000. p. 1155–1187.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Figure
American legal terminology
Public sphere