Re: FFII.org and Paul Lutus getting stupid

From: Christopher Browne (cbbrowne_at_acm.org)
Date: 10/04/04 

Date: 4 Oct 2004 12:52:31 GMT

The world rejoiced as Paul Lutus <nospam@nosite.zzz> wrote:
> You haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about. Not the
> foggiest idea. Libel is a crime in the U.S.. And what, pray tell, do
> you think distinguishes "offense" from "crime"?

There are two classes of offenses, according to Western law systems:

- Crimes, which are prosecuted by the state, and
- Torts, which must be prosecuted by the offended party.

You may recall the OJ Simpson cases; there were _two_ cases, one of
each sort.

The government prosecuted Simpson on criminal grounds, and were unable
to get a conviction. When his wife's family pursued prosecution on
the matter of the tort against her and her estate, there was a
"conviction" of sorts.

Libel is NOT a crime, in the US context; it is a tort.

There have been cases, under British and Irish law, where libel has
been treated as criminal, but this typically involved scenarios of
libel against political figures such as monarchs where since those
offended control the state, it's hard to distinguish between crime and
tort. 

-- 
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