Libel process should be the same for all

By: Hank Walker- Department of Computer Science

Posted: 11/17/03

Mr. Migl's column correctly states that the lawsuit by Suzuki against Consumer Reports is bogus. However, the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court was not really the merits of the lawsuit, but the process. Consumer Reports was arguing that they are protected by free speech and press and so the case should be thrown out. More precisely, they argued that Suzuki's case is so bogus that it should be thrown out. In other words, that Suzuki did not meet the test of libel law in terms of knowingly reporting false and damaging information, but the lower courts said that there was enough to proceed to trial. Such findings are rarely overturned, given that a trial hasn't even taken place yet.

I expect Consumer Reports to be exonerated, and I think Suzuki has only brought bad public relations on themselves by pursuing the lawsuit. However, Consumer Reports was incorrectly arguing for what amounted to a different threshold of libel for them than for others.