Opinion ID: 1163257
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: WHETHER TOPP'S REMARKS WERE STATEMENTS OF OPINION PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF I.R.P.C. 8.2(a)

Text: Statements impugning the integrity of a judge may not be punished unless they are capable of being proved true or false; statements of opinion are protected by the First Amendment unless they `imply a false assertion of fact.' Standing Comm. on Discipline v. Yagman, 55 F.3d 1430, 1438 (9th Cir.1995) (citing Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 19, 110 S.Ct. 2695, 2706, 111 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990); Lewis v. Time, Inc., 710 F.2d 549, 555 (9th Cir.1983); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 566 (1977)). Topp contends that his comments to the media were merely statements of opinion which must be afforded constitutional protection. In determining whether a statement is an assertion of fact or of constitutionally protected opinion, [t]he important consideration ... is not whether the particular statement fits into one category or another, but whether the particular article provided sufficient information upon which the reader could make an independent judgment for himself. Wiemer v. Rankin, 117 Idaho 566, 572, 790 P.2d 347, 353 (1990) (quoting Herbert W. Titus, Statement of Fact Versus Statement of OpinionA Spurious Dispute in Fair Comment, 15 Vand.L.Rev. 1203, 1216 (1962)). Thus, even statements which appear to be opinion will nonetheless be treated, for constitutional purposes, as assertions of fact if the speaker implies that he is privy to undisclosed facts and that he has private, first-hand knowledge which substantiate[s] the assertions made. Id. When such statements are made, the audience is not given sufficient information upon which to form an independent judgment; therefore, the expression of opinion is as damaging as an assertion of fact. Id. at 571-72, 790 P.2d at 352-53 (citations omitted). In this case, there is some dispute as to exactly what was said to the media. Topp contends that he merely offered his opinion in response to a newspaper reporter's question as to whether it was possible that Judge Michaud's decision could have been politically motivated. There is testimony in the record that Topp's response was altered by the newspaper to make it appear that he charged that the decision was politically motivated when, in fact, he only agreed that it was possible. However, Topp does not dispute the fact that the radio news report contained a fair statement of his actual comments. The transcript of the radio report states: County attorney John Topp is critical of [Judge Michaud's] ruling. District Judge Craig Kosonen recently granted a similar petition by Shoshone County ... Topp says there's no difference between the 2-cases, except Judge Kosonen ... quoting directly ... `wasn't worried about the political ramifications.' This statement clearly implies that Judge Michaud was worried about the political ramifications and that that was the reason his decision differed from that reached by Judge Kosonen. This statement insinuates that Topp was privy to some facts about the two cases and about the motivation of Judge Kosonen in rendering his decision. Because these facts were not revealed, Topp's audience was unable to draw its own conclusions as to Judge Michaud's motivations. Therefore, even assuming the newspaper misstated what Topp said, we conclude that the comments included in the radio news report went beyond the realm of pure opinion.