Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Ass'n, Inc. v. Bresler
| Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Assn., Inc. v. Bresler | |
|---|---|
| Argued February 24–25, 1970 Decided May 18, 1970 | |
| Full case name | Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Association, Inc., et al., Petitioners v. Charles S. Bresler |
| Citations | 398 U.S. 6 (more) 90 S. Ct. 1537; 26 L. Ed. 2d 6; 1970 U.S. LEXIS 42; 1 Media L. Rep. 1589 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 253 Md. 324, 252 A.2d 755 (1969); cert. granted, 396 U.S. 874 (1969). |
| Holding | |
| Held that using the word "blackmail" in a newspaper article about a public figure "was no more than rhetorical hyperbole" and that finding such usage as libel "would subvert the most fundamental meaning of a free press". | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Burger, Harlan, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun |
| Concurrence | White |
| Concurrence | Black, joined by Douglas |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Association, Inc. v. Bresler, 398 U.S. 6 (1970), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that using the word "blackmail" in a newspaper article "was no more than rhetorical hyperbole" and that finding such usage as libel "would subvert the most fundamental meaning of a free press" guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ruling also touched on the plaintiff's status as a public figure.