Opinion ID: 1376401
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Actionability

Text: To be defamatory, a publication must be false and must bring the defamed person into disrepute, contempt, or ridicule, or must impeach plaintiff's honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation. Godbehere v. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc., 162 Ariz. 335, 341, 783 P.2d 781, 787 (1989). A complaint that falsely charges a law enforcement officer with misconduct may be defamatory and actionable, so long as constitutional requirements are fulfilled. See, e.g., Selby v. Savard, 134 Ariz. 222, 224-25, 655 P.2d 342, 344-45 (1982). Devlin claims that Arizona law and the First Amendment protect her criticism of Turner's conduct. [5] In this case, therefore, we must examine the interplay between the constitutional protection of free speech and the common law action of defamation. See Yetman, 168 Ariz. at 73, 811 P.2d at 325. Specifically, we are asked to address how the fact-opinion differentiation affects the constitutional protection of free speech. We first turn to the present state of the law on the question.