Written by: Blake Etringer 

Professor Samantha Barbas, who holds the Aliber Family Chair in Law, was recently cited by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Alan Dershowitz v. CNN. In a concurring opinion, Judge Charles R. Wilson referenced Barbas’ article, “New York Times v. Sullivan: Perspectives from History,” to provide historical context for the ongoing debate over defamation law. 

The Sullivan ruling has long protected the press from politically motivated lawsuits, and Barbas’ analysis highlights its pivotal role in protecting freedom of the press. Judge Wilson drew on her scholarship to argue that the growing movement to revisit or overturn Sullivan poses risks not only to press freedoms, but also to democracy as a whole.