Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held, in a unanimous 8–0 decision (Justice Anthony Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case), that the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee prohibits awarding damages to public figures to compensate for emotional distress intentionally inflicted upon them.
Thus, Hustler magazine's parody of Jerry Falwell was deemed to be within the law, because the Court found that reasonable people would not have interpreted the parody to contain factual claims, leading to a reversal of the jury verdict in favor of Falwell, who had previously been awarded $150,000 in damages by a lower court.
Famous quotes containing the word magazine:
“The world has already learned that woman has other virtues than meekness, patience, humility and endurance. She possesses courage above all fear, and a will that knows no obstacles; and when these are called forth by some great emergency, false modesty is trampled in the dust, and spheres are scattered to the winds.”
—A. Holley, U.S. women’s magazine contributor. The Lily, p. 38 (May 1852)