---
title: "List whether the capture describes a public official"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/build-a-serious-harm-or-threshold-evidence-table/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A33-T1-R3-US"
practice_area: "Defamation & Media Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List whether the capture describes a public official

> List whether the capture describes the plaintiff as a public official, the words about official conduct, and the page. Leave a blank for the standard. Write no conclusion.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/build-a-serious-harm-or-threshold-evidence-table/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Defamation & Media Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List whether the capture describes the plaintiff as a public official, the words about official conduct, and the page. Leave a blank for the standard. Write no conclusion. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide the standard. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), holds that the constitutional guarantees require a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with actual malice, that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. Do not apply that holding to a private person. The capture's description is not your finding that the plaintiff is a public official. Civil Code § 45 is the libel definition if California law applies. Code of Civil Procedure § 340(c) includes an action for libel or slander within one year. No serious-harm threshold was opened. Do not import one. Civil Code § 48a(d)(4) defines actual malice, for that section, as that state of mind arising from hatred or ill will toward the plaintiff. That is not the Sullivan definition. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build a serious-harm or threshold-evidence table](https://ailawframework.com/practice/defamation-and-media-law/build-a-serious-harm-or-threshold-evidence-table.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List whether the capture describes the plaintiff as a public official, the words about official conduct, and the page. Leave a blank for the standard. Write no conclusion.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Sullivan is a public-official holding about official conduct. Do not apply it to a private plaintiff, and do not treat § 48a(d)(4) hatred or ill will as the Sullivan definition.
- No serious-harm threshold was opened. Do not import one from another jurisdiction.

## Sources

- [New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/376/254) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [California Civil Code § 45 (libel defined)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=45) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [California Civil Code § 48a (daily or weekly news publication and radio slander)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=48a.) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Serious harm evidence table (Defamation Act s 10A)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/serious-harm-evidence-table.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Evidence table for the serious harm element in s 10A of the Defamation Act 2005 (NSW): extent and audience of publication, gravity of the imputations, evidence of actual harm, and for excluded… |
| [Defamation claim assessment checklist for an aggrieved person: publication capture, serious harm, limitation and concerns notice timing](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/defamation-and-media-law/defamation-claim-assessment-limitation-checklist.md) | Checklist | Yellow | First-instruction checklist for a person who says they have been defamed: capture and first-publication date, standing of a corporation, serious harm evidence, likely defences, the 1-year limitation… |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*