Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

The U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited public officials from suing news organizations for inaccuracies made by mistake. This ruling, based on the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press, made it more difficult for public officials to sue the press for libel, because they had to prove not only that the information was wrong, but that the news organization published it with malicious intent or reckless disregard for the truth.

• Full text: New York Times v. Sullivan (Nolo)