The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-24
FOR A JUST LAW
GOVERNING LIBEL
Text Of the Bill Which Has Unanimously
Passed the Senate.
ENTIRELY FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED
While the Measure Prevents Purely
Speculative or Malicious Litigation
II Also Doubles the Penalty for
Wanton Libel, and Gives the Ag-
grieved Party the Choice of
Jurisdiction.
From the Philadelphia Times.

| From the Philadelphia Times.
The Pennsylvania senate on Thurs
| day passed finally in that body. by a
vote of 30 to 0, q libel reform bill that
was so thoroughly considered and per-
| fected by the judiciary committee by
which it was unanimously reported,
| that not a single senator had a criti-
cism to make as to any of its provis-
| ions, and not a vote was recorded
| against it. The following is the bill
| as it finally passed the senate:
An act defining libel and its punish
ment.
Section /. Be it enacted, etc, that ac-
| tions for libel, civil or criminal, may
| be instituted in any one county in
which the publication of the alleged
| libel has been made.
Section 2. Criminal actions for libel
shall be maintained for any malicious
| ly false publication, or for any malic-
| tous publication not proper for public
information, against the writer, the
editor who directs the publication and
| any editor or publisher who knowing
| iy permitted such publication, or who
refused to divulge the name of the
writer. Any person thus committing
criminal libel shall be guilty OF a mis-
| demeanOr, and on conviction shall be
| sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
| two thousand dollars, or undergo i'm
| prisonment not exceeding twelve
months, or both at the discretion of
the court.
Section 3. In any civil action for libel,
when the publication is proper for pub
| lie information, the plea of justifica-
| ton shall be accepted as adequate
| when it is pleaded by the defendant
H..
| true in every material respect, and if
such a plea shall be established to the
satisfaction of the court and jury, there
| shall be no recovery. The plea of JUS
| tification if made in good faith shall
| not enhance damages, and in no civil
| action for libel shall damages be
| awarded beyond just restitution for
| injury actually sustained.
section 4. All laws or parts of laws
| inconsistent with this act are hereby
| repealed.
THE BILL ANALYZED.
If any reasonable objection can be
made to the foregoing bill we would be
| glad to have 1t presented. The first
section provides that any person who
| desires to bring a civil or criminal ac-
| ton for libel, may do so in any county
| OF the state where the publication has
| been made, and as the circulation of
| a single copy of a. newspaper in
| county is a publication. and ais nearly
| every newspaper of the state goes
Into every county to subscribers or ex-
| changes, this law practically gives any
| plaintiff or prosecutor in an action for
| libel the choice of any Jurisdiction in
Pennsylvania in which to try the case
Thus every advantage on this point
would be with the plaintiff or prosecu-
| tor and against the publisher.
The second section makes an import
| ant. and certainly most desirable
| change, in requiring prosecutors in
| criminal actions for libel to prosecute
the actually guilty parties. These
could be prosecuted under existing
| laws, but the guiltless may be prose-
| cuted with them, and very many of
| our criminal prosecutions are directed
against entirely innocent parties, while
| no attempt is made to punish the
guilty. This provision is clearly in the
interest of reputable journalism and in
restraint of licentiousness and ire
| sponsible writers.
| The person who either carelessly or
| rnaliciously furnishes a libelous publi-
cation to a newspaper, as may be done
| by any one of the hundreds of corre-
| spondents who daily furnish news to
each of the leading journals, has lit
| tie or no responsibility under exist
| ing laws. Indeed, they are an open in
Vitation to recklessness on the part Of
the inconsiderate, and to malicious
| publications on the part Of others
| Under the enate bill the guilty party
| must answer and suffer the actual
| punishment for his crime, for malic-
| ious libel is justly dsnominated a
| crime; and in order to prevent the
escape of the guilty, the law as passed
| by the senate makes the editor and
publisher liable If they have knowing
| ly assented to the publication of the
| libel, or if they refuse to divulge the
name of the guilty party. This is en-
| tirely just. If the editor or publisher
shields a ibeler he should stand in
the libeler's place in the criminal dock
and take the punishment.
PENALTY DOUBLED.
Another feature of this section
should be we'll considered by those who
| have hastily assumed that libel reform
| means enlarged Righteousness in the
| newspaper press Of Pennsylvania. on
| the contrary, nine-tenths of the journ-
| ais of the state desire to impose great
| er restraint upon Righteousness in
| journalism, and the new law doubles
| the penalty for criminal libel by in
| creasing the maximum of fine from
| $1,000 to $4,000, with Imprisonment not
exceeding twelve months as is provid-
ed by the existing law. This section
has been carefully prepared by the
! judiciary committee of the Senate to
/ give the highest possible protection to
public and private character against
| the malicious defamation of newspa-
| pers, and there is not a feature of the
| section that does not give increased
| protection to society and increased re-
straints by punishment upon those
who either recklessly or maliciously
| assail the character of citizens.
The third section first simplfies the
| pleading in civil actions to correspond
| with the pleading in all other civil ac-
| tions in Pennsylvania. 1t puts the de-
| PENDANTS in libel suits in precisely the
| position of defendants in all other
suits for the recovery of damages. I'm
der the present libel laws the pleading
| in civil actions has not been changed
from the old common law of centuries
I