MC 4163 SECOND EXAM STUDY GUIDE:
LIBEL PART 1
Know the definitions and rules in general and how they are applied in Oklahoma. Be able to correctly recognize and apply them in hypothetical situations.
- Is libel the concern of only journalists?
- What is a SLAPP? Its purpose?
- What is the most basic definition of libel?
- Is libel law essentially state law?
- Libel must do what and be what?
- What is the difference between "character" and "reputation"? Which does libel law seek to protect?
- What does "libel proof" mean?
- The libel must lower the person's reputation in the eyes of whom? That segment of the population must represent what?
- In Oklahoma, is broadcasting typically subject to libel law?
- Who can and can't sue for libel? Can you libel the dead in Oklahoma?
- Can government sue private citizens for libel?
- Can government be sued for libel?
- How is publication defined?
- Date of Publication/Statute of Limitations in Oklahoma. Under which circumstances could the statute of limitations be extended? When won't it be extended?
- What is a summary judgment? Why is it considered one of the mass media libel defendant's best friends? What is the single publication rule? Does the rule apply to material published on the Internet? When is it possible for a libel plaintiff to file suit in another state that has a longer statute of limitations?
- May publishers be sued in any jurisdiction in which they distribute even a relatively small portion of their publications? Is the plaintiff required to reside in the jurisdiction? How is the question of jurisdiction applied to material published on the Internet?
- Understand whether communication inside a corporation, between its officers, employees, and agents, is a publication for the purposes of a libel lawsuit.
- What is the republication rule?
- Will attributing a libelous statement to a third party automatically protect the defendant?
- Does it apply in Oklahoma?
- Can an Oklahoma newspaper be held liable for printing a libelous letter-to-the-editor?
- Complicity Rule
- How is identification defined?
- What are the ways in which identification can occur?
- Understand whether the defendant must have intended to refer to the plaintiff for identification to occur. What would the plaintiff have to prove if the identification wasn't intentional?
- Group Libel Doctrine: How do Oklahoma courts determine if an unnamed member of a libeled group has been identified?
- The larger the group, the less likely . . .
- What must the member of a small group prove?
- Is the size of the group the only factor to consider?
- What does the intensity of suspicion test recognize? What elements are considered?
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