The Supreme Court’s looming threat to First Amendment law

Justice Clarence Thomas used to be the radical conservative outlier on the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, with the ascendance of a Trump-packed supermajority, he has become its senior voice, and his writings are harbingers of future rulings. His urging of a narrowing of press protections is a looming, if not yet imminent, threat. ...

Since the 1964 landmark New York Times Co. v. Sullivan decision and its progeny, there has been a high legal standard to protect news coverage of government officials and other public figures. The law permits irresponsible reporting if there is no “actual malice” — that is, knowingly publishing a falsehood or recklessly disregarding the truth. It protects errors made in good faith, even those that cause grievous harm to an individual’s reputation. It is this “actual malice” standard that Thomas wants to remove.

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