Rosenblatt v. Baer

383 U.S. 75 (1966)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
R
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Rosenblatt v. Baer

United States Supreme Court
383 U.S. 75 (1966)

Facts

Baer (plaintiff), a governmental supervisor of a county recreation area primarily used as a ski resort, filed suit against Rosenblatt (defendant), a columnist in the Laconia Evening Citizen, claiming that Rosenblatt made defamatory statements against him pertaining to the fiscal management of the resort. After a trial, Rosenblatt was found liable and the court awarded damages to Baer. While Rosenblatt’s appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court was pending, the United States Supreme Court decided N.Y. Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), in which the Court held that a qualified privilege shields a speaker from liability for an allegedly defamatory statement relating to the official conduct of a public official, unless it was shown by the public official that the speaker’s statement was made with actual malice, namely that the statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether Baer was a public official pursuant to the holding in Sullivan.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Brennan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 810,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Media Law
Torts

Key Terms