Rosenblatt v. Baer

Rosenblatt v. Baer, 383 U.S. 75 (1966), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Background
In January 1960, a newspaper column by Alfred D. Rosenblatt published in the Laconia Evening Citizen criticized the fiscal management of a county recreation area, primarily used as a ski resort and supervised by Frank P. Baer as a Belknap County government employee, stating "What happened to all the money last year? and every other year?" Baer, who had been fired as supervisor in July 1959, brought a civil libel claim in New Hampshire state court against Rosenblatt.

In April 1963, a jury in New Hampshire Superior Court awarded Baer damages in the amount of $31,500. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the award in October 1964. Between the original case and an appeal brought by Rosenblatt, the United States Supreme Court had decided New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, in which they held that a state cannot award damages to a public official for a defamatory falsehood relating to official conduct unless the official can show actual malice.

In March 1965, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. In October 1965, the case was argued before the court by Arthur H. Nighswander for the petitioner (Rosenblatt) and Stanley M. Brown for the respondent (Baer). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an amicus brief, urging reversal of the original decision.

Opinion of the Court
In an 8–0 decision issued in February 1966, the Court reversed the decision of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. It argued that there was a probability that Baer was a public official and therefore would be required to show actual malice in the depictions presented by the newspaper. It was left to the trial judge to decide whether Baer qualified as a public official.

Associate Justice Abe Fortas stated in a jurisdictional dissent, "I would vacate the writ [of certiorari] in this case as improvidently granted," as the original trial had occurred before New York Times Co. v. Sullivan was decided.

Resolution
The New Hampshire Supreme Court issued a ruling in December 1967 that Baer was entitled to a jury trial to determine if, in the context of the alleged libel, Baer was acting as a public official, coincident with a trial to determine merits of the libel case. However, the matter was ultimately resolved through an out of court settlement in March 1968.