Potter Stewart

“ But we have recognized that in the realm of political belief 'the tenets of one man may seem the rankest error to his neighbor,' and that the advocates whom we protect may resort to 'exaggeration, to vilification of men who have been, or are, prominent in church or state, and even to false statement,' Cantwell v. ”

“ A community that imposed legal liability on all statements in a political campaign deemed 'unreasonable' by a jury would have abandoned the First Amendment as we know it. Likewise, a 'preponderance of the evidence' burden of proof plays an indispensable role in the control of private negligence. ”

“ We therefore hold as a matter of constitutional law that a charge of criminal conduct, no matter how remote in time or place, can never be irrelevant to an official's or a candidate's fitness for office for purposes of application of the 'knowing falsehood or reckless disregard' rule of New York Times Co. ”

“ A candidate who, for example, seeks to further his cause through the prominent display of his wife and children can hardly argue that his qualities as a husband or father remain of 'purely private' concern. And the candidate who vaunts his spotless record and sterling integrity cannot convincingly cry 'Foul!' when an opponent or an industrious reporter attempts to demonstrate the contrary. ”

“ The respondent argues that under New York Times a plaintiff has a special burden of proof only as to libels 'relating to official conduct,' that for a candidate 'official conduct' means 'conduct relevant to fitness for office,' and that the public-private issue is one of fact for the jury. ”

“ A standard of care 'can be neutral with respect to content of the speech involved, free of historical taint, and adjusted to strike a fair balance between the interests of the community in free circulation of information and those of individuals in seeking recompense for harm done by the circulation of defamatory falsehood.' Curtis Publishing Co. ”

“ The approach of New York Times was to identify a class of person- there public officials-and a type of activity-there official conduct-and to require as to defamations respecting them a particularly high standard of liability-knowing falsehood or reckless disregard of the truth. ”

“ Few personal attributes are more germane to fitness for office than dishonesty, malfeasance, or improper motivation, even though these characteristics may also affect the official's private character.' 379 U.S., at 76-77, 85 S.Ct., at 217. ”