District Court Finds Boardman Man to be a Public Figure for Libel Suit

Libel is an interesting legal exception to our Constitutional right to free speech. It’s also a difficult civil liability to prove.

Libel is even more difficult to establish if the plaintiff is a public figure. The law gives a longer leash to government critics. For a government official to sue for libel, he must prove the speaker’s statements were knowingly or recklessly false.

That raises the bar for Jonathan Tallman. The owner and operator of a coffee shop in Boardman has been a serial candidate for public office. He is suing Michaela Miller, a former employee who accuses him of sexual harassment.

What makes this case interesting is that Oregon District Judge Michael Simon has found Tallman to be a public figure even though Tallman has never won a race. Being a candidate for public office is sufficient grounds to be a public official under this libel standard. That makes sense to me.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is the author of We were winning when I was there.