-----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ray Mullins Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 4:42 PM To: IBM-MAIN@BAMA.UA.EDU Subject: Re: IBM sues maker of Intel-based Mainframe clones
You make the presumption (sorry) that this doctrine applies to all court cases. It only constitutionally applies to criminal courts. In civil court, the burden of proof is on the defendant - always has been, even in English common law. That's why OJ owes the Goldman family a bazillion dollars or something like that. In a similar vein, that "free speech" "right" applies only to "Congress shall pass no law...". In a private corporation, there is no such thing, so if you say the CEO is a cheatin' lowlife who steals from the company, you can be fired, and he can sue you for libel, which is in a civil court, so it is up to you to prove that he is a cheatin' lowlife who is stealing from the company. (Of course, you might get lucky and have proof, in which case you should have contacted your local district attorney first and presented the information.) Later, Ray <snip> Ray: Methinks you have a few things confused. In a CIVIL case, the burden is upon the Plaintif, but one only needs a preponderance of evidence, not beyond reasonable doubt. Your CEO item is slander, not libel (unless you "published" your opinion). However, you are still entitled to Free Speech. It is just that your freedom is somewhat controllable by one's employer (e.g., dissemination of trade secret or confidential info, things that damage morale of fellow employees, cause customers problems, etc.). Now, if you are a public individual, slander and libel become more difficult (wait until The Donald attempts his threatened lawsuit against Rosy). Which is why "news" entities aren't out of business. Later, Steve Thompson ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
