Welch v. American Publishing Co. of Kentucky

LAMBERT, Justice.

An indispensable principle of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is “that de*726bate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 271, 84 S.Ct. 710, 721, 11 L.Ed.2d 686, 701 (1964). Accordingly, political speech directed toward public officials is at the pinnacle of protected speech. Since rendition of New York Times in 1964, it has been clear that…