Liability of editor or publisher

Vegas Defense Lawyer Explains Liability of Editor or Publisher

Nevada law makes libel a crime under Chapter 200, which is the chapter of Nevada law that deals with crimes against persons. The offense of libel is defined in Nevada Revised Statute section 200.510. According to the relevant law, libel includes malicious defamation against a person, living or dead; against a group or community of people; or against an association of people. The defamatory statement must be disseminated in order to expose the defamed person to contempt, ridicule, public hatred and/or must be likely to impeach the honesty, integrity, and virtue of the living or blacken the memory of the dead.

The writer who makes the defamatory statement in any form, whether written, on signs, in books, in newspapers, in other media, or in any type of publication could be charged with criminal libel. In addition to the writer being charged, there are also circumstances in which editors or publishers are charged as well. Nevada Revised Statute section 200.530 explains the circumstances under which an editor or a publisher is held liable.

If you are a writer, editor, or publisher and you are facing charges of libel, you need to take the criminal charges very seriously. You have legal rights and you should reach out to a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with libel cases and who can help you to fight the serious accusations against you.

LV Criminal Defense has provided representation to defendants accused of all different types of crimes against persons that have been made illegal in Chapter 200 of Nevada’s criminal code. Our legal team will work closely with you to develop the right legal strategy and we will put our legal experience to work in carrying out that strategy on your behalf to fight for your future. To find out more about how we can help, give us a call today.

Nevada Revised Statute Section 200.530: Liability of Editor or Publisher

If a prosecutor brings charges against an editor or a publisher, the prosecutor must prove that libel occurred because a defamatory statement was made in violation of N.R.S. 200.510. If the statement that was made was true, evidence of its truth can be introduced in court and the jury can acquit the defendant of the libel if the jury believes the information is true and was distributed for a lawful purpose.

If the prosecutor has brought charges against an editor or a publisher, the prosecutor must show that the individual can be charged under N.R.S. 200.530. Editors, proprietors of books, proprietors of newspapers and serials, and managers or copartnerships of corporations that issue the book, newspaper or serial, could all be held liable for the publication of the libel.

However, when a publisher or editor is being prosecuted for libel, the prosecutor or publisher can show in his or her defense that the defamation was published without the editor or publisher’s knowledge or fault. The publisher or editor could also show that the defamation was published against his or her wishes by someone who did not have the authority to publish. In order for this defense to be successful, the publisher or editor would also have to show that the defamation was retracted as soon as the publication was known and that the retraction received the same level of publicity as the original defamatory statement.