Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc.
| Decision Date | 15 March 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 72-1514.,72-1514. |
| Citation | 475 F.2d 744 |
| Parties | Gregory L. PORTER, Appellant, v. GUAM PUBLICATIONS, INC., et al., Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Douglas F. Cushnie (argued), of Arriola, Bohn, Cushnie & Stevens, Agana, Guam, for appellant.
Thomas J. Nolan (argued), Walter S. Ferenz, of Barrett, Ferenz, Bramhall & Klemm, Agana, Guam, for appellees.
Before CHAMBERS, ELY and WALLACE, Circuit Judges.
This libel action arises out of a newspaper article published by appellees describing appellant's arrest for the theft of a cash box. In factual contrast, the warrantless arrest stemmed from an unsworn and assertedly false complaint that appellant had stolen an automobile. The District Court concluded that the publication was privileged and granted appellees' motion for summary judgment.
To overcome the traditional defense of newspaper privilege, appellant cites Guam Civil Code § 47, which provides in relevant part:
"A privileged communication is one made . . . by a fair and true report, without malice, in a public journal, of . . . a verified charge or complaint made by any person to a public official, upon which complaint a warrant shall have been issued."
Appellant argues under this statutory authority that the publication was not privileged because (1) the report was unfair and untrue, (2) the complaint leading to his arrest was not verified, (3) a warrant had not been issued, and (4) the newspaper had been motivated by malice.
It is axiomatic that although a statute may bestow a privilege not otherwise available, a statute cannot constrict a privilege that is constitutionally conferred. Since Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc., 403 U.S. 29, 91 S.Ct. 1811, 29 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971), St. Amant v. Thompson, 390 U.S. 727, 88 S.Ct. 1323, 20 L.Ed.2d 262 (1968), and New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964) demonstrate that the newspaper account in this case was constitutionally privileged, we reject appellant's argument that the Guam statute delimits the entire scope of privileged publications of police arrests.
Rosenbloom, St. Amant and Sullivan establish that in the absence of reckless or calculated falsehood, damages are not available for a newspaper's defamatory publication of an individual's involvement in events of public or general interest. Appellant's arrest was an event touching the community's "vital interest in the proper enforcement of its criminal laws." See Rosenbloom, supra at 43, 91 S.Ct. at 1819. The constitutional protection afforded the report of such an...
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...members of the victim of a highly publicized bridge disaster not actionable absent proof of actual malice); Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc., 475 F.2d 744, 745 (CA9 1973) (article concerning citizen's arrest for theft of a cash box considered an event of general or public interest); Cervan......
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Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc.
...for libel, in the amount of $25,000. The case has previously been before this court. In an identically styled decision reported at 475 F.2d 744 (9th Cir. 1973), we affirmed the District Court's order granting summary judgment for defendant, on the basis of the constitutional libel privilege......
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Doran v. United States, 72-1330.
... ... Woods Construction Co., Inc. v. Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc., 337 F.2d 888 (10th Cir. 1964). The ... ...
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Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc., 72-1514
...Remand PER CURIAM: Originally, our court affirmed the judgment of the District Court in the subject cause. Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc., et al., 475 F.2d 744 (9th Cir. 1973). Subsequently, the Supreme Court granted the appellant's petition for certiorari, and our judgment has been reve......