Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 29, 1985 Editor condenms libel suits IN BRIEF By CHARLES SEWELL Recent libel suits brought against ,Time Magazine and CBS Television illustrate an erosion of the citizen's right to criticize public officials, Gene Roberts, executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, said yesterday. "We are in the midst of a First. Amendment crisis," Roberts said at the fourth annual Murray Lecture on the First Amendment in the Modern Languages Building. Private citizens, as well as media organizations, are being hit with defamation suits today for statements and actions which were on- ce considered responsible citizen par- ticipation in community affairs, he said ROBERTS SAID a growing fear of litigation has put "a price on dissent." If the current trend of litigation con- tinues, major media institutions "will be the only ones left who can afford to speak out," Roberts said. He stressed that while few libel suits are won by plaintiffs, the huge expense of defen- ding oneself can break many private citizens and bankrupt small media organizations. "We as a society, have delivered into the hands of government officials a sub- tle weapon against freedom of ex- pression," he said. BY GRANTING judges, legislators and other public officials immunity from libel laws while holding private citizens and media organizations responsible for their statements, "the courts created an imbalance between government and private citizens," he said. Roberts said the courts must extend this immunity to individuals and media groups to correct the imbalance. He described a court case from the early 1960s which was a turning point in the interpretation of the First Am en- dment. The New York Times was being sued by the mayor of an Alabama town for running an advertisement linking the. mayor to anti-civl rights actions. The advertisement contained seven in- correct statements. The mayor won the case, but the decision was overturned in appeals court. THE APPEALS COURT said that when criticizing goverment action it is sometimes hard to avoid errors, and those errors, the court said, do not con- stitute defamation. Had the court stopped there, Roberts said, the right of the individual and the media to criticize public officials would have been sufficiently protected. But the court went on to say that if one party knowingly makes false ac- cusations against another with intent to harm, this can be considered defamation. This, Roberts said, was the origin of "the malice test" in libel suits. "The very decision which was designed to protect" the right to criticize government "has become a weapon aimed at the heart of criticism," he said. The efforts of citizens and small media groups who can not afford ex- pensive legal counsel "will be stilled" if this trend is allowed to continue, Rober- ts said. "The time has come to return to basics," he said, calling on American judges to protect the public's right to criticize government. "The time has come to return to the First Amen- dment." Students lobby state ON ALL MEN'S AND WOMEN'S FASHION MERCHANDISE 15-0OFF EVERYTHING IN OUR OUTDOOR BACKPACKING/TRAVEL DEPARTMENT New Spring '85 equipment and clothing from the North Face, Patagonia, Wilderness Experience, Cannondale, Kirtland, Eclipse, MEl, Gregory, Avocet ON SALE. Sale ends Saturday, March 30, BIOA legislators (Continued from Page 1) was an opportunity to thank Bullard for his support of higher education and the bill which would have blocked the code. Bullard promised to re-introduce the bill by the end of the school term. Sib~e'ui~e td~ Tke I4(iga *Daie 764-0558 7614207 330 S. State - Nickels Arcade OPEN SUNDAY 12-4:30 THERE ARE TWO SIDESTO BECOMING A NURSE IN THE ARMY. And they're both repre- sented by the insignia you wear as a member of the Army Nurse Corps. The caduceus on the left means you're part of a health carey system in which educational and career advancement are the rule, not the exception. The gold bar on the right means you command respect as an Army officer. If you're earning a BSN, write: Army Nurse Opportunities, P.O. Box 7713, Clifton, NJ 07015. ARMY NURSE CORPS. BE ALLYOU CAN BE. in Lansing State Sen. Lana Pollack told the students she supported the proposed fund which would set aside money to fund research at the University of Michigan and three other schools and opposed efforts to "water down the fund" by dividing it up among all of the state's public colleges and universities.- In meetings with Bullard and Pollack Michaes stressed the need for them to listen to student views. "You can bring in administrators and faculty, but that's only a part of the institutuion's educational community," he said. Michaels praised the student lob- byist'sefforts, calling the group the "state's student assembly." He said the group could grow to have a strong in- fluence on the legislature and cited similar groups in New York, California, and Minnesota which have become quite powerful. Greek Variety show fills Hill Aude (Continued from Page 1) receiving outpatient care in local hospitals. Chapman said she has been planning four months for last night's event. Preparation involved renting out Hill Auditorium, setting up a sound system, and getting judges for the singing and dancing events, she said. "Everything is under control now. I'm pretty ner- vous though," she said shortly before the show. Chapman and other coordinators weren't the only ones putting in long hours for the show. Those involved in acts practiced several hours a week for as long as a month and a half. Students were in charge of their own directing, costumes, accompaniment, and, in the case of dance acts, choreography. I Last night's show allowed teams to participate in two categories - dance and song. Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and Sigma Nu and Sigma Phi Fraternities captured first place with their renditions of "Aint-a That Good News," a spiritual song. Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority and Alpha Tau Omega and Chi Psi Fraternities earned first place honors in the dance division with their "Raise a Ruckus Tonight" number. '!-SHIRT Ann Arbor's fastest!' From 10-800 T-shirts screenprint- ed within 24 hours of order.' Multi-color printing our specialty. You supply art or use our expert design staff. Hundreds of surplus T-shirts only $2. each. Located behnd the BI~nd Pg Cafe 208' s First St Phone 994-1367 YAC R E E -P R IN T SPEND THIS SUMMER IN MAINEI Be a counselor at Kippewa for girls. Located on scenic Twelve Mile Lake in Winthrop, Maine. OPENINGS IN THE FOLLOWING SKILLS: swimming (WAI), sailing, Compiled from Associated Press and United Press international reports Goetz pleads innocent, pays bail NEW YORK-Bernhard Goetz pleaded innocent to attempted murder yesterday and was allowed to remain free on $5,000 bail for the subway shootings that his lawyer said have made him "the best-known face in the country." Assistant District Attorney Gregory Waples had asked that bail be raised to $20,000 from the $5,000 that was set for Goetz in January. But State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Crane refused after Barry Slot- nick, Goetz's lawyer, said Goetz "has nowhere to go, judge. You're looking at, unfortunately, the best-known face in the country. He couldn't flee." "I concede the defendant has faithfully appeared in court whenever required," Waples said, but he asked for higher bail because the new charges, handed up Wednesday, were more serious than the indictment issued by a different grand jury in January. The latest indictment came after District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, saying he had a new witness, resubmitted the case to a grand jury. Slotnick, arguing there was no new evidence, tried unsuccessfully to block the resub- mission. Gorbachev criticizes U.S. buildup GENEVA, Switzerland-U.S. and Soviet arms negotiators yesterday held their first working session on limiting medium-range nuclear weapons amid new charges by Moscow that Washington is using the talks as a smokescreen for a military buildup. In a written reply to questions from a West German peace group, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized congressional funding of 21 new MX missiles, President Reagan's "Star Wars" anti-missile plan and deployment of U.S. nuclear missiles in Western Europe. Negotiators for both sides met for three hours and 45 minutes, the longest session since the superpower talks resumed March 12 after earlier ones broke off in late 1983. Both sides refused to disclose details of the session, adhering to a secrecy agreement. Senate urges anti-Tokyo tariffs WASHINGTON-Escalating the U.S. 'trade war' with Japan, a unanimous Senate voted yesterday to urge President Reagan to strike back with tariffs- and quotas unless Tokyo opens new markets to American goods. "Our patience is exhausted," Sen. David Boren (D-Okla.) declared before the Senate approved the non-binding resolution on a 92-0 vote. He called Japan's $37 billion trade surplus over the United States in 1984"an in- tolerable situation." The Senate's vote came on the heels of an announcement by Japanese of- ficials that they would increase their nation's automobile exports to the United States in the year starting Monday by 25 percent, to 2.3 million vehicles. White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan was "extremely disappointed" by the Japanese announcement. Marlin Fitzwater, another spokesman, added, "...Our position remains that we want more access to other Japanese markets." Air Force suspends G.E. defense contracts for alleged fraud WASHINGTON-The Air Force announced yesterday it has temporarily suspended the General Electric Co. "from obtaining any new contracts with the Department of Defense." "The suspension is based upon the indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday," Air Force Secretary Verne Orr announced. Orr was referring to an indictment that alleges the nation's fourth largest defense contractor defrauded the government of about $800,000 on a nuclear warhead system. Orr's letter made it clear that the suspension would not affect existing contracts. But the letter said the suspension would apply not only to new con- tracts but also to extensions or renewals of existing contracts. Mary McElveen, a GE spokeswoman in Washington, said the firm would have no immediate comment. In his letter, Orr said the suspension will remain in effect "pending com- pletion of the legal proceedings initiated by the indictment... unless sooner terminated by me in whole or in part." Sudanese riot at U.S. Embassy KHARTOUM, Sudan-More than 2,000 demonstrators rampaged through Khartoum and marched on the U.S. Embassy yesterday, burning cars and looting stores in the third straight day of rioting over food price hikes. Five people have died in the violence. A British Broadcasting Corporation report, monitored in Mairobi Kenya. said food riots also had broken out in other key Sudanese cities but Sudanese officials refused comment on the report. The official Sudan News Agency said there were no reports of disturbances outside the capital. The latest violence brought to five the death toll for three days of rioting spawned by gasoline and food price increases. The price hikes were prescribed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to save Sudan from bankruptcy. The official Sudan News Agency said more than 300 people have been arrested in the disorders and accused the Moslem Brotherhood-a fun- damentalist Islamic group supported by Iran and Libya-of organizing the demonstrations. I 10 01 I' .. 4 _ I E4~1J- -" _ Li10 tpI bv rtpz1'. 0 be MIJrliwan 1?attIQ Vol. XVC - No. 141 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Tuesday through Sunday during the Fall and Winter terms and Tuesday through Saturday during the Spring and Summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. Sub- scription rates: through April - $4.00 in Ann Arbor; $7.00 outside the city. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and subscribes to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times Syndi- cate, and College Press Service.T Ed, ~L~~i TOMIV KEANEY t. I /' Withe11e p tons all h as tis'E Queklo~VT4Ns "sce c p rC Co ,,v © b-' o0t Editor in Chief.....................,NEIL CHASE Opinion Page Editors............ JOSEPH KRAUS PETER WILLIAMS Managing Editors..........,GEORGEA KOVANIS JACKIE YOUNG News Editor................THOMAS MILLER Features Editor ............... LAURIE DELATER City Editor..................ANDREWERIKSEN Personnel Editor.............TRACEY MILLER NEWS STAFF: Jody Becker, Laura Bischoff, Dov Cohen, Nancy Driscoll, Lily Eng, Carla Folz, Rita Gir- ardi, Maria Gold, Ruth Goldman, Amy Goldstein, Ra- chel Gottlieb, Jim Grant, Bill Hahn, Thomas Hrach, Sean Jackson, Elyse Kimmelman, David Klapman, Debbie Ladestro, Vibeke Laroi, Carrie Levine, Jerry Markon, Jennifer Matuja, Eric Mattson, Amy Min- dell, Kery Murakami, Joel Ombry, Arona Pearlstein, Christy Reidel, Charlie Sewell, Stacey Shonk, Katie Wilcox, Andrea Williams. Magazine Editors..,............,PAULA DOHRING RANDALL STONE Associate Magazine Editors....... JULIE JURRJENS JOHN LOGIE Arts Editors.......................MIKE FISCH ANDREW PORTER Associate Arts Editors... MICHAEL DRONGOWSKI Movies..................... BYRON L. BULL Music..................... DENNIS HARVEY Books........................ANDY WEINE Theatre......................CHRIS LAUER Sports a tor . .. .. .. ... . .... .... ... Iv r IE Associate Sports Editors............. JOE EWING BARB McQUADE ADAM MARTIN PHIL NUSSEL STEVE WISE SPORTS STAFF: Dave Aretha, Eda Benjakul, Mark Borowsky, EmilyBridgham, David Broser, Debbie de- Frances, Joe Devyak, Chris Gerbasi, Rachel Goldman. Skip Goodman, Jon Hartmann, Steve Herz, Rick Kap- Ian. Mark Kovinsky, John Laherty, Tim Makinen, Scott McKinlay, Scott Miller, Brad Morgan, Jerry Muth, Adam Ochlis, Mike Redstone, Scott Salowich, Scott Shaffer, Howard Solomon. Business Manager-----------------...LIZ CARSON Sales Manager............... DAWN WILLACKER Marketing Manager ................ LISA SCHATZ Finance Manager ................. DAVE JELNIK Display Manager..............KELLIE WORLEY Classified Manager...............JANICE KLEIN Nationals Manager-----.---JEANNIE McMAHON Personnel Manager.............. MARY WAGNER Ass't. Finance Mgr........... FELICE SHERAMY Ass't. Display Mgr ..............DOUG SMITH Ass't. Display Mgr. ............ LIZ UCHITELLE Ass't. Sales Mgr...........MARY ANNE HOGAN Ass't. Classified Mgr.............BETH WILLEY ADVERTISING STAFF: Jill Adelman, Carla Balk, Julia Barron, Amelia Bischoff, Sue Cron, Monica Crowe, Melanie Dunn, Richard Gagnon, Meg Gallo, Susan Gorge, Betsy Heyman, Jen Heyman, Tammy Herman, Linda Hofman, Lori Marusak, Sue Mel- ampy, Stephani Mendelson,LMatt Mittelstadt, Emily Mitty, Jeanne Perkins, Judy Rubenstein, Judith :, : / M I I I LL7