athlete in question belonged to a religion that observes Saturday   as   the   Sabbath   —   a   day   of   quiet   and meditation.  The  story,  as  it  was  printed,  defamed  the athlete as not being a devout member of his church. Libel  per  quod  is  the  most  common  of  all  libels. Very  few  publishers  intentionally  undertake  the  risk involved in printing material that is obviously libelous. However, libel per quod often occurs because of errors or  negligence.  There  are  countless  other  examples  of libel  by  circumstances  —  wrong  names,  wrong addresses, and so forth. Libel by circumstances also may result from what the reader may infer. In a story appearing in a national magazine,  a  man  was  described  as  being  a  legislative representative (lobbyist) for the Communist Party. The man charged in a suit that this statement damaged his reputation   because   it   implied   he   was   a   communist sympathizer.   Whether   the   man   was,   or   was   not,   a communist sympathizer or a lobbyist for the party was beside the point. The man claimed he had been defamed, and his claim was upheld by a federal appeals court. “Guilt  by  association”  also  is  a  form  of  libel  per quod This form of libel, sad to say, has been employed for many years by unscrupulous politicians and others seeking positions of power. Perhaps  the  most  obvious  use  of  this  method  has been the linking of various persons to the Communist Party by innuendo. During a political campaign in the west several years ago, pamphlets appeared describing a U.S. senator who was running for re-election, as being friendly toward communist aims. One of the principal items of evidence given to support this claim was the fact that the senator had participated in a pre-World War II meeting during which Russia and Stalin were praised as foes of Nazi Germany. The pamphlets were clearly an  example  of  circumstantial  libel  —  what  the  reader might infer. The intent of the writers of the pamphlet was apparently to damage the senator’s reputation in order to injure his election prospects. LIBEL AND THE LAW LEARNING  OBJECTIVE:  Recognize  the  laws that  apply  to  civil  and  criminal  libel  and  the defenses against libel action. We have pointed out that the laws of libel are state laws, unlike the U.S. Constitution or other national laws that bind all U.S. citizens. Libel laws vary from state to state with each state free to make changes in its libel code  whenever  it  chooses.  As  a  result,  there  is  little uniformity   among   the   states   regarding   award   of damages or the nature of judgments in similar types of libel  cases. The  state  laws  of  libel  are  complex  and  can  be understood thoroughly on1y by an attorney or a person trained in this field. In this section of the chapter, we only describe some of the “ground rules” that generally apply in all states. There are two types of legal action that can result from publication of libelous material:  civil action and criminal  action. CIVIL  LIBEL  ACTION Civil  libel  action  results  when  one  person  sues another  in  court  because  of  alleged  defamation.  This defamation,  again,  need  not  be  to  the’  individual’s character or reputation. It can be to a person’s business, occupation  or  property. Civil  libel  also  can  be  committed  against  a  legal “person”  composed  of  more  than  one  individual.  In  this regard,  a  corporation,  a  partnership  or  any  other association  of  individuals  can  be  defamed  General Motors  could  sue  an  individual  for  defaming  its products or business practices. Also, an individual could sue  General  Motors.  One  corporation  also  can  sue another   corporation. Individuals   cannot   sue   the   U.S.   government, however, unless it consents to the suit. When people feel they have been libeled by an agency of the government, they still cannot bring suit unless the government agrees to be sued. Civil  libel  suits  are  always  between  persons, whether the “person” is an individual, an association of individuals or an artificial being, such as a corporation. A sum of money is the usual compensation awarded by civil courts for damages. The amount has varied from one  cent,  a  nominal  sum  to  indicate  vindication,  to millions  of  dollars. Money  awarded  in  libel  cases  is  intended  to compensate  the  injured  party  for  mental  or  physical suffering and for actual financial loss and to punish the individual or individuals who committed the libel. CRIMINAL   LIBEL   ACTION Criminal libel action is less common than civil libel action, but it is much more serious. Criminal libel is a crime and can be prosecuted in the courts like any other crime. In criminal libel the state ‘is the accuser and the 10-4