Opinion ID: 2278018
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Qualified or special privilege to report judicial proceedings

Text: Operating in tandem with the absolute privilege accorded participants in court proceedings is a lesser privilege, alternatively described as qualified, conditional, or special, given to persons who report to others defamatory statements uttered during the course of judicial proceedings. Again, the applicable Maryland law has long been settled. Reports of in-court proceedings containing defamatory material are privileged if they are fair and substantially correct or substantially accurate accounts of what took place. McBee v. Fulton, 47 Md. 403, 417, 426 (1878); Evening News Co. v. Bowie, 154 Md. 604, 610-11, 141 A. 416 (1928); Brush-Moore Newsp. v. Pollitt, 220 Md. 132, 138, 151 A.2d 530 (1959); Piracci v. Hearst Corporation, 263 F. Supp. 511, 513 (D.Md. 1966), aff'd, 371 F.2d 1016 (4th Cir.1967); Yerkie v. Post-Newsweek Stations, Michigan, 470 F. Supp. 91, 93 (D.Md. 1979); Batson, supra, 325 Md. at 727, 602 A.2d 1191. Generally speaking, qualified or conditional privileges in defamation cases are forfeited only upon a showing of actual malice; that is, a defendant who makes statements with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth is not protected. Batson, supra, 325 Md. at 733, 602 A.2d 1191; Marchesi v. Franchino, 283 Md. 131, 139, 387 A.2d 1129 (1978). Since enunciating in Marchesi the actual malice standard as it applies to the conditional privileges invoked in other settings, typically employment decisions and credit references, this Court has not been presented with a case involving privileged reports of judicial proceedings. Our early cases suggest that such a qualified privilege operates only when the report is fair, accurate, and made without malice. See, e.g., McBee, supra, 47 Md. at 426; Bowie, supra, 154 Md. at 610, 141 A. 416. See also Restatement of Torts § 611(b) (1938) (protection lost if report is published solely for the purpose of harming the person defamed). The modern view regards the reporting of judicial proceedings as protected by a so-called special privilege that is, while not absolute, somewhat broader in its scope than other conditional privileges. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 611, comment a (1977). The modern view discards the search for malice, and requires simply that the report be fair and substantially correct, Brush-Moore Newsp., supra, 220 Md. at 138, 151 A.2d 530; Yerkie, supra, 470 F. Supp. at 93, or, in the language of the Restatement, accurate and complete or a fair abridgement of the occurrence reported. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 611. Under the modern view, the privilege exists even if the reporter of defamatory statements made in court believes or knows them to be false; the privilege is abused only if the report fails the test of fairness and accuracy. Id. We need not express a preference for either the traditional or modern view in the case before us. The record is barren of any evidence suggesting that Dr. Rosenberg acted maliciously in evaluating Jackie and subsequently reporting his conclusions to the court and the television news team. His professional training and experience of 20 years indicated to him that Jackie had suffered abuse. Nothing suggests that the psychologist knew his own conclusions to be false, or reached them with a reckless disregard for the truth. To the contrary, he testified that he had been alert to the possibility that the child had been coached, and that he had considered corroborating factors, such as the physician's report and the social worker's report, which were consistent with a diagnosis of abuse. Helinski did not challenge Rosenberg's credibility on these points. We do not accept Helinski's conclusion that the July 26 hearing, at which Judge Jacobson found no connection between Helinski and the child's genital injury, established the truth, thereby rendering Rosenberg's professional opinion false, and his conduct malicious, for the purposes of a defamation action. Judge Jacobson expressly revisited the question of sexual abuse at the August 20 hearing. By implication, the truth of this matter before the trial court remained an open question demanding a further inquiry, in which Rosenberg was permitted to offer new evidence. We find no trace of malice here. The special protection given to fair and accurate reports of judicial proceedings rests on a fundamental premise: `A trial is a public event. What transpires in the court room is public property.... Those who see and hear what transpired can report it with impunity.' Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469, 492, 95 S.Ct. 1029, 1044, 43 L.Ed.2d 328 (1975) (quoting Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367, 374, 67 S.Ct. 1249, 1254, 91 L.Ed. 1546 (1947)). Any one of three theories may serve as a rationale for granting a privilege to such reports of events in court: (1) the agency rationale, by which the reporter acts as agent for an otherwise preoccupied public which could, if it possessed the time, energy or inclination, attend the proceeding; (2) the public supervision rationale, by which the reporter provides to the larger community data it needs to monitor government institutions; (3) or the public information rationale, by which the reporter provides information affecting the greater public welfare. Reuber v. Food Chemical News, Inc., 925 F.2d 703, 713 (4th Cir.1991) en banc, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 111 S.Ct. 2814, 115 L.Ed.2d 986 (1991); Medico v. Time, Inc., 643 F.2d 134, 140-42 (3rd Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 836, 102 S.Ct. 139, 70 L.Ed.2d 116 (1981). See David A. Elder, The Fair Report Privilege 3-4 (1988). While each of these theories might arguably serve in this case, the agency rationale is clearly applicable. Rosenberg acted as a conduit between the courtroom and the world at large. He recounted events at a judicial hearing, entirely open to the public, that any members of the community might have seen and heard for themselves. While the fair report privilege usually arises in lawsuits involving the press or electronic media, it is not limited to defendants in the news business. The privilege extends to protect reports of judicial proceedings made by other persons as well. McBee, supra, 47 Md. at 417; Seymour v. A.S. Abell Co., 557 F. Supp. 951, 955 (D.Md. 1983); see Restatement (Second) of Torts § 611, comment c (privilege extends to any person who makes an oral, written or printed report to pass on the information that is available to the general public); Eldredge, Law of Defamation at 421; Elder, Fair Report Privilege at 169. As the public's interest in obtaining reports of court matters remains the same irrespective of the reporter's identity, Rosenberg may invoke the privilege. That he may do so is consistent with the principle that the law generally treats journalists and non-journalists alike in the context of defamation actions. See Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, 472 U.S. 749, 773, 105 S.Ct. 2939, 2952, 86 L.Ed.2d 593 (1985) (White, J., concurring) (First Amendment gives no more protection to the press than it does to others exercising their freedom of speech); id. at 784, 105 S.Ct. at 2958 (Brennan, J., dissenting) (the rights of institutional media are no greater and no less than those enjoyed by other individuals or organizations); Negley v. Farrow, 60 Md. 158, 177 (1883) (proprietor of newspaper entitled to no privilege not possessed by the community in general). The instant case thus turns primarily on the fairness and accuracy of Rosenberg's comments to the camera. Of his statements' accuracy there can be no doubt. Rosenberg insists, Helinski concedes, and we agree that the psychologist's three remarks on the courthouse steps essentially repeated what he had said earlier as a witness during the hearing itself. He told the television newspeople that Jackie had discussed being hurt in the genital area by her father; that her fear and anxiety resulting from the hurtful episode were genuine; that young children cannot convincingly simulate such fear and anxiety; that the frightening episode was limited in time; and that the child had a good chance of overcoming her psychological distress. The transcript of the August 20 hearing makes clear that Rosenberg, using a similar vocabulary and often adopting a similar tone, had offered the very same observations on the witness stand. If anything, parts of his witness testimony were phrased somewhat more emphatically in connecting Helinski to sexual abuse of the child. We must next consider the fairness of Rosenberg's report of the events that took place during the hearing in court. Here the Restatement offers a useful guide: Even a report that is accurate so far as it goes may be so edited and deleted as to misrepresent the proceeding and thus be misleading. Thus, although it is unnecessary that the report be exhaustive and complete, it is necessary that nothing be omitted or misplaced in such a manner as to convey an erroneous impression to those who hear or read it. Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 611, comment f. Helinski asserts that Rosenberg's report fails the test of fairness. He contends that Rosenberg additionally should have reported that the trial court found Mrs. Helinski in contempt, ordered further psychological evaluations of the domestic parties, and considered Helinski innocent of abusing Jackie. We disagree. [4] The fair reporting privilege reaches not only comprehensive accounts of judicial proceedings, but accounts focusing more narrowly on important parts of such proceedings. See, e.g., Bowie, supra, 154 Md. 604, 141 A. 416 (report of judge's charge to grand jury); Rushford v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 846 F.2d 249, 254 (4th Cir.1988) (report of cross-examination testimony and bench conference); Ricci v. Venture Magazine, Inc., 574 F. Supp. 1563, 1565-67 (D.Mass. 1983) (report that accused threatened witness in courtroom); The Savage Is Loose Co. v. United Artists, Etc., 413 F. Supp. 555, 560-561 (S.D.N.Y. 1976) (report of allegations made in a complaint); Mark v. Seattle Times, 96 Wash.2d 473, 635 P.2d 1081 (1981), cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1124, 102 S.Ct. 2942, 73 L.Ed.2d 1339 (1982) (reports based on criminal information and affidavit of probable cause). Rosenberg's testimony constituted a major portion of the hearing before Judge Jacobson. His testimony related to both the visitation order and the contempt motion pending before the trial court. The transcript of his testimony is 50 pages long. Mrs. Helinski, the only other witness at the hearing, answered four questions on direct examination and was then briefly questioned by the court before undergoing a short cross-examination; her testimony's transcript is 6 pages long. Rosenberg's comments to the T.V. crew, then, addressed the most significant substance of the hearing. His report was not unfair in respect to what he said. Nor do we find Rosenberg's statements unfair in respect to what he did not say. His out-of-court comments reporting his own testimony, to the exclusion of other matters, did not result in a materially misleading account of the hearing. The other aspects of the hearing were collateral to the defamatory gist of his report. The trial court's decision to hold Mrs. Helinski in contempt sprang from her defiance of a court order. The ruling existed apart from Rosenberg's testimony identifying Helinski as a child abuser; and the contempt citation of the mother certainly did not lessen the defamatory sting of that testimony. Indeed, a report of the mother's motives for inviting the court's displeasure  her wish to protect Jackie from further abuse  might have multiplied the damage to Helinski's reputation. Judge Jacobson's order that both of the Helinskis undergo psychological testing did not exculpate the father from the charges leveled against him. The ordinary person would understand the order to be part of the trial court's efforts to evaluate the emotional health and stability of the parties before venturing to devise a visitation schedule. A report that the father's visitation rights had been suspended pending the outcome of the tests would only have confirmed the inherently defamatory message that he posed a danger to the child. Finally, Rosenberg had no duty to report that the trial court believed Helinski innocent of child abuse. Such a report would have been incorrect. The trial court at the August 20 hearing expressly reopened the July 26 hearing, and amended its earlier order. Judge Jacobson stated at the second hearing that he was not convinced that Helinski had caused Jackie's sexual injury. The court declared it did not know the source of Jackie's injuries. It described Rosenberg's testimony as very potent. Judge Jacobson then suspended the father's visitation rights and ordered that he be evaluated by a psychologist. The judge largely adopted Rosenberg's recommendations as to future steps. The court noted that some danger to the child existed, and that it could not predict whether Helinski would be permitted to reestablish a parental relationship with the girl. These many factors reveal a trial court judge searching prudently and even-handedly for the truth. They hardly represent a judicial finding of innocence. In sum, the parts of the hearing which Rosenberg did not address were of little or no consequence to the defamatory import of his statements to the T.V. camera. His choices regarding what to say and what to leave unsaid were those reasonably to be expected in abbreviation of the entire proceeding. Pulvermann v. A.S. Abell Co., 228 F.2d 797, 803 (4th Cir.1956). His synopsis of the hearing was fair in that the overall impression created by the summary was no more defamatory than that created by the original. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Jacobson, 713 F.2d 262, 270 (7th Cir.1983). As we see it, a fuller report would not have somehow evened the score between harm and rehabilitation materially affecting Helinski's reputation. Rosenberg accurately and fairly reported his witness testimony.