Bennet/Stocker

Question 1

What is Bennets main idea/point?

Answer 1

english libel law should treat statements which interpret earlier statements as being, prima facie, assertions of opinion

Question 2

How does Bennet describe early judicial responses to defamation cases and why?

Answer 2

‘deeply problematic’ because D response is treated as statement of fact not opinion

Question 3

What are 2 problems with the way juries respond to defamatory cases?

Answer 3

1) interpretation of words is subjective
2) most people are ‘wholly unaware’ of the legal requirements for a statement to be seen as an opinion

Question 4

What is a key case discussed (besides Stocker)?

Answer 4

Riley v Murray [2020]

Question 5

Whose tweet did Riley respond to and what did she say?

Answer 5

Owen Jones’
‘Good Advice’

Question 6

What was Owen Jones’ tweet?

Answer 6

‘I think sound life advice is, if you don’t want eggs thrown at you, don’t be a Nazi’

Question 7

After what event did Riley post her tweet?

Answer 7

Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Party Leader) had eggs thrown at him during Mosque visit

Question 8

What is some context regarding Riley and her views?

Answer 8

known for criticising Corbyn and LP over its approach to anti-Semitism

Question 9

Who is Murray?

Answer 9

one of Corbyn’s aides

Question 10

What did Murray’s tweet state?

Answer 10

Riley is ‘as dangerous as she is stupid. Nobody should engage with her. Ever.’

Question 11

How did Murray view Riley’s tweet?

Answer 11

interpretated it as Riley saying Corbyn deserved to be violently attacked as he was a Nazi

Question 12

What is the main rule discussed?

Answer 12

The Single Meaning Rule

Question 13

What is the single meaning rule?

Answer 13

court must identify the 1 and only meaning of any statement alleged to be defamatory

Question 14

Who determines the meanings of statements and why?

Answer 14

Judge as DA 2013 abolished jury trial

Question 15

How does Bennet view SMR?

Answer 15

statements can bear ‘perhaps even infinite’ meanings and judges are ‘ill-positioned to identify this meaning’

Question 16

Who commented on the SMR and in what case?

Answer 16

Lord Nicholls in Charleston v NGN Ltd [1995]

Question 17

What did Lord Nicholls say in Charleston v NGN Ltd [1995]?

Answer 17

SMR is oversimplified as readers ‘vary enormously in the way they read articles and the way they interpret what they read’

Question 18

Why is defamation law inconsistent?

Answer 18

courts simultaneously accept statements have multiple meanings and only one

Question 19

What did Bennet say was the main issue in Riley v Murray?

Answer 19

Riley’s tweet could be interpreted in multiple ways (which court accepted) but only 1 meaning was chosen for Murray’s tweet

Question 20

Who lost Riley v Murray [2020]?

Answer 20

Murray

Question 21

What does Bennet say about English defamation law?

Answer 21

‘it matters not a jot whether the author intended a defamatory meaning; it matters only that a hypothetical reader interprets the statement as defamatory’

Question 22

What does Ludiwg Wittgenstein say in Philosophical Investigations?

Answer 22

we interpret what we see by reference to our past experiences

Question 23

Who and in what says that we interpret what we see by reference to our past experiences?

Answer 23

Ludwig Wittgenstein in Philosophical Investigations

Question 24

As judges determine the single meaning, who is the ‘hypothetical reader’ based upon?

Answer 24

internal biases of the judicial class, not the average person

Question 25

What is the name for people who share background experiences?

Answer 25

interpretative communities

Question 26

What is an interpretative community?

Answer 26

people who share background experiences

Question 27

Who created idea of interpretative communities?

Answer 27

Stanley Fish

Question 28

What does Bennet say as to why Fish's idea is heavily critiqued?

Answer 28

his definitions of interpretative communities are 'so vague and abstract as to make discussion of them difficult'

Question 29

What case talks about what an 'ordinary, reasonable reader' consists of?

Answer 29

Hall v Brooklands Auto Racing [1933]

Question 30

What does Hall v Brooklands Auto Racing [1933] say the ordinary, reasonable person is?

Answer 30

someone who isn't gullible or overly suspicious, can read between the lines, isn't looking for scandal etc

Question 31

Who was the reasonable reader in Stocker v Stocker?

Answer 31

a social media user

Question 32

What happened in Stocker v Stocker?

Answer 32

D posted on FB that the C, her former husband, had 'tried to strangle' her

Question 33

What did Nicklin J say in Monir v Wood?

Answer 33

'the essential message that is being conveyed by a Tweet is likely to be absorbed quickly by the reader'

Question 34

Who said that the essential message in a Tweet will be quickly absorbed by the reader?

Answer 34

Nicklin J in Monir v Wood

Question 35

How do Nicklin J and Bennet's view regarding Twitter users and Riley compare?

Answer 35

Nicklin J assumed user would have difficulty finding the og tweet as there was no direct link Bennet says this is unrealistic as reasonable user would know searching Rachel R would promptly show her account

Question 36

How does Bennet believe a reasonable user will view Murrays' tweet?

Answer 36

as a subjective interpretation of Riley's tweet, not an objective, factual account

Question 37

What happens if a statement is ruled as a fact in terms of defences?

Answer 37

only defence is proving statement to be true under s2 of DA 2013, but this is impossible as opinions (like Murray's) cannot be proven)

Question 38

What is the Kemsley Rule?

Answer 38

sometimes a statement that looks like opinion may be treated as a fact if it fails to provide reader with enough background info

Question 39

How has the abolishing of jury trials changed court proceedings?

Answer 39

the questions of whether a statement is opinion and honest was decided together, courts still use those old cases even though now it is decided separately

Question 40

How does Bennet feel about courts using old cases even though opinion and honesty are dealt with separately now?

Answer 40

believes it is wrong and that courts have misunderstood s3 DA 2013

Question 41

What does s3 DA 2013 explain?

Answer 41

firstly a statement must be established as opinion and only then decided if it explains its reasoning (courts still do both steps together which is an issue)

Question 42

What should be noted about the Kemsley Rule?

Answer 42

contradicts new statute so should no longer be used