ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5262

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 8, 2025

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5262.

      This bill would codify the standard set by the United States Supreme Court concerning civil suits for defamation brought by public officials.  In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), the court ruled that in an action for damages by a public official for defamation relating to official conduct by the public official, the public official is barred from recovery unless the public official proves that the allegedly defamatory statement was false and was made with actual malice.  This bill embodies that standard.

      In addition, the bill codifies the longstanding common law principle that proof of the truthfulness of an allegedly defamatory statement is an absolute defense against any recovery by the public official.

      As noted by the court: “The First Amendment requires that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide open, and such debate may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” See Sullivan at 270.