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Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
Supreme Court of the United States (1971) | 28 L. Ed. 2d 35; 91 S. Ct. 621; 401 U.S. 265; 1971 U.S. LEXIS 77; 1 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1619
TL;DR: A newspaper called a U.S. Senate candidate a "former small-time bootlegger." The Supreme Court held that a charge of past criminal conduct against a political candidate is always relevant to their fitness for office, requiring the candidate to prove "actual malice" to recover for libel.
Legal Significance: This case establishes that the New York Times "actual malice" standard applies to any statement about a political candidate's past criminal conduct, regardless of how remote, as such conduct is per se relevant to the candidate's fitness for office.