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Sullivan alleged that he had been libeled by statements in a full-page advertisement that was carried in the New York Times on March 29, 1960. "Heed Their Rising Voices."
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In 1963, he sued the New York Times for libel. The ad did not mention Sullivan’s name. But Sullivan said that the ad made him look bad by implying that he was responsible for the action of the other police officers. He said that the ad damaged his reputation in the community.
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In the Alabama court, Sullivan won his case and the New York Times was ordered to pay $500,000 in damages. The decision was 9 votes for New York Times and 0 votes against Sullivan.
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On January 6, 1964, the Times appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court. The newspaper had no reason to believe that the advertisement included false statements, so it did not check their accuracy. The newspaper argued that it had no intention of hurting L.B. Sullivan.The Times argued that “if a newspaper had to check the accuracy of every criticism of every public official, a free press would severely be limited.”
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The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the New York Times. The Court declared America’s “profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.” The court believed that free and open debate about the actions of public officials was more important than honest factual errors that might damage officials’ reputations.
