OLD DOMINION BRANCH NO. 496, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, AFL-CIO, et al. v. AUSTIN et al.

Whether the conviction of a district attorney for criminal defamation under the Louisiana Criminal Defamation Statute violated the First Amendment.

To what extent does the First Amendment protections for speech and press limit a state's power to award damages in a libel action brought by a public official against critics of his official conduct?