Q&A Hero

Q: In the only two false light cases the U.S. Supreme Court has decided, it said all plaintiffs must prove actual malice. Some lower courts also require all false light plaintiffs to prove actual malice. Others require only public officials and public figures to prove actual malice.

Q: A right of publicity cannot survive a persons death.

Q: Successful appropriation suits may be based on advertisements, posters, and news stories.

Q: A successful appropriation lawsuit could be brought for using a photograph of a public official, such as a state governor, in an advertisement without permission.

Q: A person with a television camera sneaks across the mayors lawn, peeks through barely open curtains, and takes a picture of the mayor in a darkened living room. The photographer decides he has done a terrible thing and exposes the film, so the picture never is printed. The mayor likely will lose an intrusion suit because the photographer remedied the situation by exposing the film.

Q: In general, intrusion can take place if there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Q: To win a private facts lawsuit, the standard a plaintiff must show is the publication injured the plaintiffs reputation.

Q: To win a private facts lawsuit, the standard a plaintiff must show is the plaintiff revealed the information to no more than a few close friends and/or family members.

Q: In United States v. Jones, the U.S. Supreme Court held that physically mounting a GPS transmitter on a car amounts to a search and violates the Fourth Amendment.

Q: Despite a federal law protecting the privacy of health care information possessed by health care providers and health plans, the law does not cover health information in school records, employment, files, or financial records. Courts allow an employer to inspect employees e-mail, including personal messages, and to listen to their telephone conversations.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in only two false light cases. In both those rulings the Court held that all false light plaintiffs must prove actual malice to win their cases.

Q: Courts in all states allow plaintiffs to bring false light lawsuits against the mass media.

Q: A newspaper photographer who is on a public sidewalk never can commit intrusion.

Q: In private facts lawsuits, judges use a bright-line rule to determine if the story is newsworthy.

Q: The first time a law journal published an article that explained the legal theory about why U.S. courts should recognize a right to privacy was in ______. a. 1920 b. 1890 c. 1970 d. 2000

Q: Which privacy tort is most similar to libel? a. false light b. intrusion c. private facts d. appropriation

Q: Which Supreme Court case holds that the plaintiff did not have standing to sue for damages because he could not show that he suffered concrete harm as a result of misuse of his personal data? a. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins b. City of Ontario v. Quon c. Florida v. Jardines d. Riley v. California

Q: What is a data broker? a. an entity that collects and stores billions of pieces of personal data that cover nearly every U.S. consumer and sells that information to other organizations b. a consumer device or sensorother than computers, smartphones, and tabletsthat connects, stores, or transmits information via the internet c. a tracking device on users computers, installed by popular websites, for data-gathering and analysis. d. technology that tracks what websites people visit

Q: Privacy first was brought to the attention of judges and lawyers through an 1890 law review article by Warren and Brandeis.

Q: The best defense against an intrusion lawsuit is ______. a. the defendant had the plaintiffs consent b. the story is newsworthy c. conditional privilege d. the First Amendment

Q: Sally, a reporter for the Daily Sun, is at a detectives desk in the police station. There is an official folder open on the desk. Without touching the folder, Sally is able to see a document containing the name of a minor who had been arrested for burning down his parents garage. Sally writes a story about the arrest, including the minors name. The minors parents sue Sally and the Daily Sun for private facts. Sally and the Daily Sun will ______. a. win because minors cannot bring lawsuits b. win because Sally lawfully obtained, and the Daily Sun published, truthful information from a public record c. lose because Sally did not have the police detectives permission to look at the document in the folder d. lose because it is against the law to reveal the names of minors arrested for committing a felony

Q: Jane Johnson was a famous rock star but retired 20 years ago and withdrew from the public eye. While she was a musician, she stole a very valuable diamond ring from another musician. She quickly returned the diamond, was not arrested for theft, and only her brother knew about the incident. Last week, Spy Magazine published an article revealing the theft. Johnson sued Spy Magazine for private facts. a. Johnson will lose because she did not keep the theft private. b. Johnson will lose because passage of time does not change the storys newsworthiness. c. Johnson will win because she is not newsworthy 20 years after she retired as a musician. d. Johnson will win because a story about a musician stealing a diamond is not newsworthy.

Q: A professor is crossing the university lawn on his way to the library. She is walking with a man who is not her husband. A newspaper photographer, standing on the sidewalk in front of the library, takes a picture of the couple and the picture appears in the next days paper. The cutline says, Professor Janine Jones and Sam Smith enjoy the spring air. The professor would have a good case for ______. a. appropriation b. intrusion c. private facts d. false light e. none of these

Q: Which federal government agency protects consumer privacy and enforces federal privacy laws? a. Congress b. Federal Communication Commission c. Federal Trade Commission d. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Q: Which Amendments are considered to protect different aspects of personal privacy? a. Third and Fourth b. Third, Fourth, and Fifth c. Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth d. Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth

Q: Which recent Supreme Court case held that a police officer cannot search a suspects smartphone without a warrant? a. City of Ontario v. Quon b. Riley v. California c. Florida v. Jardines d. United States v. Jones

Q: Most of the recent Supreme Court cases involving privacy are directly tied to which Constitutional amendment? a. Fourth b. Third c. First d. all of these

Q: Which of the following is a true statement about the reasonable expectation of privacy test from the Katz decision? a. It applies when a person exhibits an actual expectation of privacy. b. It applies when society is prepared to recognize a persons actual expectation of privacy as reasonable. c. It applies when the Fourth Amendment is invoked. d. all of these

Q: A reporter meets a fire truck at a huge blaze engulfing a large house. The reporter asks the firefighters if she can follow them into the garage attached to the house, which is the one part of the building not yet covered in flames. The firefighters say yes, and the reporter follows the fire fighters into the garage. The homeowner likely will be ______. a. able to successfully sue the reporter for intrusion, but only if the reporter refused to leave when the homeowner told her to leave b. able to successfully sue the reporter for intrusion if the homeowner did not give the reporter permission to be in the house c. not able to successfully sue the reporter for intrusion if the firefighters truly believed they had the right to give the reporter permission to follow them into the house d. not able to successfully sue the reporter for invasion of privacy if the firefighters had a good reason to tell the reporter she could enter the house

Q: A reporter falsely tells a homeowner she is from the county assessors office, a government agency. The homeowner admits the reporter into the house. Later discovering the reporters true identity, the homeowner sues for intrusion. The homeowner likely will ______. a. win the intrusion suit; nothing further will happen to the reporter b. win the intrusion suit; the reporter may face criminal charges c. lose the intrusion suit; the reporter may face criminal charges d. lose the intrusion suit; nothing further will happen to the reporter

Q: If courts in a state rule that the right of publicity is a property right, that means ______. a. the right of publicity does not survive a persons death b. the right of survival protects famous people only c. the right of publicity survives a persons death d. personal rights survive a persons death

Q: In an advertisement, Creamy Ice Cream shows a woman eating one of the companys ice cream bars. The woman looks just like Sandra Johnson, a pop singerbut it was not Johnson. Johnson, who didnt give permission to the ice cream company, sues Creamy. Johnson will ______. a. win because she did not give the company permission to use someone who looks like her in an advertisement b. win because celebrities never can be used in advertisements c. lose because companies have the right to use famous people in advertisements without permission d. lose because the woman in the advertisement was not Sandra Johnson

Q: A radio commercial uses the voice of a singer sounding remarkably like Lilly Jones singing part of her hit record, Fainting. The singer is not Jones. To avoid an appropriation lawsuit for a sound-alike problem in the advertisement ______. a. the ad cannot use Joness name b. the singers voice must be disguised c. the ad must include a disclaimer saying, for example, the singer is not Jones d. there is no problem; sound-alikes can be used in radio ads under all circumstances

Q: The magazine Macintosh Computing runs an advertisement for itself in another magazine, PC Quarterly. The ad includes a picture of John Fence, head of Macrosell. John Fence ______. a. likely will win an appropriation suit under any circumstances because his picture was used without his permission b. likely will win an appropriation suit if he did not give permission for the picture to be used, even if the picture had been used in a Macintosh Computing article c. likely will not win an appropriation suit if the picture had been used in a Macintosh Computing article d. likely will not win an appropriation suit even if the ad shows John Fence saying Subscribe to Macintosh Computing

Q: When a judge talks about a transformative use in a right-to-publicity case, the judge is referring to ______. a. using the plaintiffs likeness in a product the defendant can sell b. transforming a right to privacy claim into a claim for the right to publicity c. a use that takes a person who is a celebrity in one field and transforms that celebrity to another field, such as making a musician into a TV actor d. a use that is not a literal reproduction of the plaintiffs likeness, but a use in which the defendant has added a creative element to the likeness, such as making it a parody of the likeness

Q: Which of the following could lead to a successful intrusion lawsuit? a. walking across someones lawn to a window and taking a picture through a small opening in the drapes b. hacking into someones computer c. standing on a public sidewalk and taking a picture through someones open front door d. walking across someones lawn to a window and taking a picture through a small opening in the drapes and hacking into someones computer d. all of these

Q: What is the purpose of a SLAPP? a. to harass ones critics into silence b. to place a restraining order on a media outlet c. an unconstitutional limit on free speech d. all of these

Q: Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act ______. a. requires the application of the actual malice standard in libel actions b. prevents a libel action from moving forward when one party is anonymous c. protects internet service providers from liability in defamation cases if they are only serving as distributors of information d. all of these

Q: In cases of anonymous speech, the courts will apply ______. a. a SLAPP b. the Dendrite test c. actual malice d. rhetorical hyperbole

Q: Who was Evans in Ollman v. Evans? a. a newspaper columnist b. a newspaper reporter c. a college professor d. a political activist

Q: The Milkovich v. Lorain Journal decision teaches that ______. a. newspaper columns and columnists are immune from successful libel claims b. in spite of being forums for opinion, newspaper columns and columnists may be targets of successful libel claims c. letters to the editor are protected by the opinion defense d. neutral reportage is limited in its scope

Q: In defending a lawsuit based on statements of opinion, a defendant may win the case by arguing that the statements are ______. a. rhetorical hyperbole b. protected by the First Amendment c. fair comment and criticism d. all of these

Q: The idea that material cannot be libelous when it is unbelievable relates to which libel defense? a. wire service b. fair comment and criticism c. neutral reportage d. rhetorical hyperbole

Q: The way courts accept and apply the four privacy torts ______. a. is consistent among all states b. varies from state to state c. shows that the four privacy torts are recognized in all states d. varies from state to state and shows that the four privacy torts are recognized in all states e. none of these

Q: A false light plaintiff must prove the story ______. a. made him or her appear to be someone he or she is not b. said negative things about the plaintiff c. injured the plaintiffs reputation d. was seen by a third party e. made him or her appear to be someone he or she is not, and was seen by a third party

Q: False light differs from libel because ______. a. in false light, a plaintiff must show the statement was substantially true; in libel, a plaintiff must show the statement was false b. in false light, a plaintiff must show the statement would highly offend a reasonable person; in libel, a plaintiff must show injury to reputation c. false light involves only statements that make the plaintiff seem better than she or he is; libel involves statements that make a plaintiff seem worse than she or he is d. there is no difference between false light and libel

Q: What is the neutral reportage defense? Does it apply in all states?

Q: List all the elements of the Ollman v. Evans test for opinion.

Q: A newspaper runs a column on the editorial page once a week written by Julie James. The column is entitled My Opinion. One week, James writes a column about animals, such as cats and dogs, being stolen from peoples yards and being sold to medical and cosmetic testing laboratories. The column includes information from police reports and statements from some people whose animals were stolen. The columnist makes clear that she thinks stealing animals for experimental purposes is a terrible thing to do. Then the column says, Sam Jones, a deputy sheriff in Adams County, has received some of these animals and sold them to George Smith. Smith, in turn, sold them to the testing labs. While it is unclear whether Jones knew the animals were stolen, he knew that he was being a rotten and repulsive person, and dealing with people wholike himselfare among the lowest of the low. Jones brings suit for libel based on the words rotten, repulsive, and lowest of the low. Assuming Jones can prove all the elements of the plaintiffs case, what is the newspapers (and columnists) one best defense? Will it be a successful defense? Why or why not?

Q: Apply the jurisdiction test to the following scenario: Two Connecticut newspapers were investigating conditions of confinement at a Virginia prison. The story was relevant in Connecticut because some of the overflow prison population in Connecticut was being transferred to a Virginia facility. Articles that included content critical of the Virginia prison and its management appeared in the newspaper in both its print and online editions. The Virginia prison warden sued in federal court in Virginia, claiming that the online content was seen in Virginia and had defamed him there. How would the court decide if Virginia has jurisdiction?

Q: Explain how the courts are now interpreting Section 230 with the explosion in blogs and social mediadoes Section 230 apply to more than just internet service providers? How does Section 230 deal with user-generated content?

Q: Which of the following is not one of the requirements of the fair report/qualified privilege? a. The information must be obtained from a record, proceeding, or individual recognized as official. b. The news report must be concerning a matter of public controversy. c. The news report must fairly and accurately reflect what is in the public record or what was said during the official proceeding. d. The source of the statement should be clearly noted in the news report.

Q: Which libel defense is specifically meant to protect reviews of products and services that are presented for public consumption? a. fair report/qualified privilege b. fair comment and criticism c. neutral reportage d. rhetorical hyperbole

Q: Under the First Amendment, there is no such thing as a false idea.

Q: Courts have determined that under Section 230 gossip websites like TheDirty.com are protected the same as internet service providers.

Q: The fair report privilege covers officials and proceedings in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of state, local, and federal governments and, often, private individuals communicating with the government.

Q: The libel defenses of fair comment and criticism and opinion are the same.

Q: Rhetorical hyperbole is a libel defense.

Q: The single publication rule limits libel victims to only one cause of action even with multiple publications of the libel, which is common in the mass media and on websites.

Q: When qualified privilege is mentioned, exactly what is it qualified on? In other words, what characteristics must the story contain to maintain the privilege?

Q: What is the name given to the libel defense that asserts the reputation of the person suing is already so bad that a false report about him or her cannot damage it any further?

Q: Explain the concept of innocent construction.

Q: A libel plaintiff has to prove only one element of his or her case in order to succeed, whereas a libel defendant is required to prove every possible defense.

Q: The fair report privilege is a qualified privilege.

Q: The late U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ollman v. Evans.

Q: Letters to the editor are usually viewed as expressions of opinion and therefore unlikely to be the target of successful libel claims.

Q: Given a choice between using the fair comment defense or the opinion defense, a libel defendant should use the opinion defense because it is based on the First Amendment.

Q: The only requirement in using the fair report privilege as a libel defense is that the report be fair.

Q: The criteria for judging whether a statement was an expression of opinion was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Ollman case.

Q: Over time, the neutral reportage defense has become one of the most used libel defenses because of its acceptance by courts nationwide.

Q: The opinion defense is considered the constitutional equivalent of fair comment and criticism.

Q: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ______. a. protects internet service providers from libel when others create potentially libelous content, although the protection is not absolute b. does not apply to libel law c. protects anyone who posts libelous content online d. provides absolute protection for internet service providers from libel when others create potentially libelous content

Q: Which of the following is not a libel defense? a. opinion b. rhetorical hyperbole c. fair comment and criticism d. actual malice e. all these are libel defenses

Q: What is the fair report privilege? a. a privilege claimed by journalists b. a privilege that can only be claimed when information comes from official records c. a privilege that can only be applied when the reporting fairly and accurately reflects the content of an official record d. all of these

Q: When does the neutral reportage defense apply? a. when a story is newsworthy and related to a public controversy b. when an accusation is made by a responsible person or group c. when the story is accurate, contains other views, and is reported in a neutral way d. all of these

Q: Why did the Ninth Circuit court provide TheDirty.com Section 230 immunity? a. because the website owners additional comments did not materially contribute to the defamatory content of the third-party (user) statements b. because the speech in question was anonymous c. because there is no statute of limitations in these cases d. all of these

Q: When does Section 230 immunity apply to an ISP or website? a. when the ISP/website is a content creator b. when the ISP/website interacts directly with the content c. when the ISP/website corrects, edits, adds, or removes content, as long as the action doesnt substantially alter the meaning of the content d. all of these

Q: What is a libel-proof plaintiff? a. someone whose reputation cannot be lowered beyond its current level b. someone whose reputation can be harmed only by false statements c. a private person d. a public person

Q: According to the single-publication rule, ______. a. subsequent sales or reissues of publications are not considered to be new publications, and therefore are not susceptible to libel claims b. subsequent sales or reissues of publications are considered to be new publications, and therefore are susceptible to libel claims c. the rule does not apply to internet publications d. the rule applies only to daily publications such as newspapers

Q: According to the libel-proof plaintiff doctrine, ______. a. certain public officials are in such important positions that the media are forbidden from libeling them b. certain public officials are in such important positions that they cannot sue the media for libel c. people with already bad reputations have an easier time winning libel lawsuits d. some people have reputations so bad that even false and defamatory claims cannot harm their reputations any further