A follow up from last week’s Destination: Defamation, this song tackles New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964) and the interplay between defamation law and the First Amendment. *Note, these are the clean version of the lyrics (i.e. I censor the ONE curse word in the song, lol). I will have a clean audio version of the ready to go in short order, but for now, enjoy the b-word in all it’s glory with the YouTube link below.,

Chorus

Defa-mation!

Defa-mation!

What’s the First Amendment Saying?

Defa-mation!

Defa-mation!

(Freedom of Speech unrestricted, kid, I’ll say it again)

Defa-mation!

Defa-mation!

What’s the First Amendment Saying?

Defa-mation!

Defa-mation!

(I got sense in me, you can’t censor me, it’s JustMisterP)

Verse 1

The First Amendment says censoring men and women isn’t in,
The Constitutional limits my friend!
Barring exceptions for speech that we just ain’t protecting! I’ll let you folk
In, on some exceptions, like fighting words, and,
Obscenity or profanity, we ain’t gon’ run the whole gamut,
cuz man it’s REMIX and yo the plan is
To talk about slander and libel! Hand on the Bible,
Ya state should have say over whether you liars,
Can damage ya rival’s name!
But yo things change when you add in some fame!
Think Cardi B when she sued Tasha K!
Tell ya the law doesn’t treat her the same,
As you and me!
Fame is a helluva drug! And when it’s in play, yo the question is just…

Chorus

Verse 2

Let’s take you back into time,
To 1789!
The Constitution was signed!
Love em or hate em the founders had freedom in mind!
Right?! RIGHT?!
It’s the Enlightenment!
And they were inspired by writings of guys like
John Locke!
To say freedom of sharing ideas can’t be blocked,
By government! (Nah)!
And so comes the marketplace, of ideas,
Which says there’s value in everything y’all could say!
“You mean I can walk in a crowded place, like a theatre,
Screaming out BOMB…and then y’all say,
That has a valuable meaning?”
Well nah!
Certain words worth a damn, so we can ban!
That takes us back to defam…libel and sland!
It’s speech! But lies don’t have value, capiche!
And that’s the policy we,
Use for defamation as justification, believe!
You want valuable speech, then talk about politics, b!
Or causes that’s popular, speech,
Of public concern, hope you can discern!
As we would learn, in New York Times vs Sullivan¹,
Son, those distinctions get blurred!
A case from the Sixties, filed by the Commish of the City,
Of Montgomery, A-L! For defamation, amid hell, in that environment! Civil Rights on our mind again! This guy tried to stifle it!
Til they said…

Chorus

Verse 3

Lemme tell ya bout Sullivan, he was a sonuva-STOP!
He was the OPP!
Running the COPS!
Down in Montgomery in 64.
$500,000 he got from the court,
In Alabama, as his reward,
Suing for libel while fighting the Times²,
And some black preachers he said told a lie.
Citing an ad in the Times, for Civil Rights, That was substantially true,
But certain things weren’t right,
Since it was libel, he said that harm is presumed,
By publication itself! Well…hmm…
SCOTUS³ told us on review,
After defendants appealed, well, yo…
Really this clown couldn’t sue! Unless he proved…
Actual Malice in spreading a fallacy,
About him,
See, he was a public official, so it’s public speech over policy,
Which has value
Believe me! In this marketplace!
It’s better to let people talk, if they get something wrong, a State,
Can’t punish them over the harm,
Unless they knew, or should’ve known it was wrong,
Y’all! Think of the earlier song!⁴
Normally it’s the defendant who has to show truth or opinion to win it,
But naw!
When you’re a public official the law,
Says you must prove that a statement is false,
Not the defendant!
If you can’t prove it, you lost.
That’s the decision, handle ya business!
Later decisions did extend this rule to public figures,
Not just officials.
And that prevents you kids from getting hit
With slander, suits for mentioning
The latest biz involving Meg and Tory Lanez, for instance!
It’s a higher burden
For celebs in defamation! But it’s different for private persons.
If you’re litigious and intend to sue for libel, but you,
Are no official,
or Celeb,
The First Amendment isn’t issue
Kids! Don’t stress!
That is, well unless…
Your name is George Zimmerman!
The family of Jon Benet Ramsey or someone that’s similar!
A private ass citizen! Caught up in a fairly known issue!
And then, it depends! On whether the First Amendment, kicks in!
But man…
If there’s no public concern, there’s no need to worry!

Footnotes

1. Categories of constitutionally unprotected speech include fighting words, obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, and speech integral to criminal conduct. See U.S. v. Stevens, 559 US 460, 468-69 (2010); see also Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 US 568, 572 (1942),
2. New York Times, for the unaware.
3. Supreme Court of the United States.
4. https://justmisteresq.com/2022/03/19/destination-defamation-complete-lyrics/. Video link.

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