Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!ubc-vision!van-bc!sl
From: sl@van-bc.UUCP (Stuart Lynne)
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Forgeries
Message-ID: <672@van-bc.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 26-Apr-87 16:59:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: van-bc.672
Posted: Sun Apr 26 16:59:47 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 28-Apr-87 00:42:46 EDT
References: <9405@decwrl.DEC.COM> <655@desint.UUCP> <1577@munnari.oz> <272@ems.UUCP>
Reply-To: sl@van-bc.UUCP (Stuart Lynne)
Organization: Public Access Network, Vancouver, BC.
Lines: 43
Xref: mnetor news.misc:324 news.sysadmin:165

In article <272@ems.UUCP> mark@ems.UUCP (Mark H. Colburn) writes:
>In article <1577@munnari.oz> kre@munnari.oz (Robert Elz) writes:
>>In article <655@desint.UUCP>, geoff@desint.UUCP (Geoff Kuenning) writes:
>>> I think it's also worth pointing out that forgery is definitely a crime.
>>> So is slander.
>>
>>Not unless the US has even more wierd laws than I thought.  [...]
>
>	In the US, slander and defamation of character are both 
>	against the law.  newspapers and other publishers get 
>	sued for it every day.
>

Which is exactly the point Robert Elz was making. To finish his quote: 

>Not unless the US has even more wierd laws than I thought.  Slander
>is a tort.

Tort law is usually based on precendents or case law. Criminal Law is
usually based on Statute law, or Laws that are passed by the state.

Torts are significant in that they deal with a specific type of problem, 
vis a vis to compensate victims of tortious activities, not to punish 
the wrongdoers. Punishment is left to Criminal Law where applicable. For
example Slander and Libel are both Torts. Assault and Battery is a Tort and
a Criminal act. Drunken driving is (usually) a criminal act. 

The practical difference is that if you perform a criminal act the state
prosecutes you, if you perform a tort the victim must sue you, the state has
nothing to do with it unless it is also a criminal act. Given the preceding
examples, you can be sued for Slander, Libel or Assault and Battery. You can
be prosecuted by the State for Assault and Battery or Drunken driving.

More specifically, the tort of defamation takes two forms: libel is written
defamation and slander is spoken defamation. It conists of a statement which
causes unjustified injury to the reputation of another person. The
defamation requires publication, "communication of the disparaging statement
to someone other than the person defamed". A complete defence against a
charge of defamation is that the alleged defamatory statements are true.


-- 
Stuart Lynne	ihnp4!alberta!ubc-vision!van-bc!sl     Vancouver,BC,604-937-7532