Legal Analysis: Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts and Oklahoma Law - Prof. E, Study notes of Communication

Download Legal Analysis: Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts and Oklahoma Law - Prof. E and more Study notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! Know the legal DEFINITION for this common law privacy tort, the DEFENSES against it, the appropriate COURT CASES, and how it is treated under OKLAHOMA LAW. 20- Public Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts  What criteria constitute this tort? 1. There must be publicity to private facts about an individual o 2. The revelation of this material must be offensive to a reasonable person o 3.The material is not of legitimate public concern  To win on such a claim, the plaintiff must prove that the media defendant’s statement was:  highly offensive to a reasonable person,  contained private facts about the plaintiff’s life,  was a public disclosure of private facts, and  was not of legitimate concern to others.  Is truth a defense? o no  Why have other states rejected this tort? o The North Carolina Supreme Court, for example, called it “constitutionally suspect,” saying that it punishes the press, or whomever, for publishing truthful information that has been legally obtained.  What was the Tenth Circuit's reasoning for rejecting the argument that a photo taken at a public funeral service for a deceased soldier contained private facts about the plaintiffs' lives? o The facts were not private because the relatives had “opened up the funeral scene to the public eye.”  In Anderson v. Blake , what was the federal judge's reasoning in declaring that an Oklahoma City television station and reporter were not liable for public disclosure of private facts even though they had aired portions of a videotape of an alleged rape? o “The portions of the videotape actually shown by defendants do not reveal any publicly identifiable facts about the plaintiff.” o Reporter had not revealed the woman’s name, age, relationship to her alleged attacker, who was her ex-husband, “or any other identifying characteristics.”  Are public events considered private? Is that an absolute defense? o No; yes  Why have the Oklahoma Supreme Court and U.S. Suprme Court established nearly complete protection for the media to accurately report from public records? 1 o McCormack v. Oklahoma Publishing (Okla 1980)  McCormack v. Oklahoma Publishing (Okla 1980)  The SC has said, “The interest of privacy fade when the info involved already appears on the public record and once true info is disclosed in public court docs open to pub inspection, the press cannot be sanctioned for publishing it.”  Court said public disclosure of private facts didn’t occur b/ c pub records i.e. the US Justice Department’s organized crime list had been used by the newspaper.  Reported that plaintiff was a one-time gambler and illegal casino operator in OKC. . (Daily OK) o Cox Broadcasting v. Cohn (1975)  Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohen (1975): Supreme Court establishes nearly complete protection for media to accurately report from official court document. (The media always win the right to print rape victim's name.)  TV station broadcast the name of 17-yr-old rape victim who died in the attack. Her father sued, claiming his privacy was invaded by the use of his daughter's name. o Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989)  Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989)  Newspaper not held liable for publishing the name of a sexual assault victim, which was against state law Information had been lawfully obtained b/c it was from public records.. the fact that police reports given to the reporter were not public record was immaterial. “The fact that state officials are not required to disclose such reports does not make it unlawful for a newspaper to receive them when furnished by the government,” Marshall wrote. But the jurist stressed that the court’s ruling was not without limits.  What have courts generally ruled regarding state statutes prohibiting the publication of a rape victim's name? What reasoning have the courts relied upon? o Court rulings seem to be generally consistent in protecting the press. o Protect the press, obtain it lawfully – can’t punish for publication.  What standard is used to determine offensiveness? Be familiar with the examples. o 1.Would the publication of the material offend a reasonable person? o 2. Was the published material of legitimate public concern? 2 o Where is the line drawn?  “The line is to be drawn when the publicity ceases to be the giving of information to which the public is entitled, and becomes a morbid and sensational prying into private lives for its own sake with which a reasonable member of the public, with decent standards, would say that he had no concern.  That standard provides breathing space for what to occur?  That standard, the tenth circuit said, “properly restricts liability for public disclosure of private facts to the extreme case, thereby providing breathing space needed by the press to properly exercise effective editorial judgment. o In Anderson v. Blake , why were the video clips substantially related to a matter of legitimate public concern? (Boil it down to the reasons.(139)  As the plaintiff admits, the circumstances surrounding her alleged rape and the alleged rapes of two others b the same person were newsworthy. Part of the story’s newsworthiness involved the fact that the alleged rapist had videotaped the incident. Further, it arose against the backdrop of prior denials of any involvement in such activity. Thus, a view of the videotape depicting the alleged attack and identifying the attacker strengthened the impact and credibility of the story and was logically connected to a matter of public concern. While the court might well have made a different editorial decision regarding the airing of the videotape, it may not appropriately engage in after-the-fact judicial blue penciling which might have a chilling effect on the freedom of the press to determine what is a matter of legitimate public concern  Boils down to: The fact that the alleged rapist had videotaped it b/ c taping it proved he’d done it and strengthened the credibility and the impact of the story. If later ruled against it – might have had a chilling effect on the freedom of the press determining what is a matter of legitimate pub concern. o According to the Tenth Circuit, why would engaging in an activity that could be of general interest not render every aspect of a person's life subject to public disclosure?  “Because each member of our society at some time engages in an activity that fairly could be characterized as a matter of legitimate concern, to permit that activity to open the door to the exposure of any truthful of secret about that person would render meaningless the tort of public disclosure of private facts. The FA does not require such a result. Therefore, to properly balance freedom of the 5 press against the right of privacy, every private fact must be disclosed in an otherwise truthful, newsworthy publication must have some substantial relevance to a matter of legitimate public interest.” o In Lee v. Calhoun , why were a doctor's quotes revealing a patient was HIV-positive substantially related to a matter of legitimate public concern? (Know all the reasons.)  These matters are of legitimate public concern ‘b/c of the public interest or debate regarding the size of litigation claims and jury awards… and the pub concern in policing failure sin the medical profession.”  “Comments clearly pertained to his defense of the [malpractice] lawsuit”  “Were sufficiently related to the news story to preclude them from serving as the basis for an invasion of privacy claim.” o When could the defense apply to information disseminated for purposes of education, amusement or enlightenment?  When the public may reasonably be expected to have a legitimate interest in what Is published  Does a public person remain so over time? This is true even when ... o “With few exceptions, the cases hold that once a persons activities become a matter of public interest, he cannot revert to a private status.” o “Rule is true even if a subject has gone to ‘pitiable lengths’ to avoid pub scrutiny, and had apparently succeeded in retiring from pub life until the article was published. 6  How is publicity determined in Oklahoma? Be familiar with the examples. o Restatement (Second) of Torts – “the matter is made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of pub knowledge... The difference is not one of the means of communication… [but] one of a communication that reaches, or is sure to reach the public.”  Anderson v. Blake – fed judge indicated that publicity required more than “a limited number of persons.”  (Plaintiff lost) Hadnot v. Shaw – OKSC said a “statement to a single ind” was “not enough publicity”  (Plaintiff lost) Eddy v. Brown – OKSC said supervisor’s disclosure “to a limited number of the plaintiff’s co-workers that he was undergoing psychiatric treatment did not amount to publication for purposes of this tort.”  Guinn v. Church of Christ in Collinsville – OKSC concluded that the element of publicity was met when church elders read scriptures implicating the plaintiff’s private life to a church congregation comprising 5 percent of her hometown population.”  What is the statute of limitations for filing this claim in Oklahoma? o Most likely 2 years-although this has not been an issue before the courts 7