Count the correction-demand periods from the dates supplied
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the knowledge date and the service date the lawyer supplies, count 20 days after the knowledge date and three weeks after the service date. Report those two dates. Do not decide whether Civil Code section 48a applies, and do not decide whether a correction was published in a substantially as conspicuous a manner.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether California Civil Code section 48a applies before anyone uses the dates. Where it applies, the notice and demand must be served within 20 days after knowledge of the publication or broadcast of the statements claimed to be libelous. If a correction is demanded and is not published or broadcast in substantially as conspicuous a manner in a regular issue within three weeks after service, the section states the damages consequence. The statute uses 20 days and three weeks. It does not say business days. A correction published or broadcast in the required manner before receipt of a demand has, under subsection (c), the same force as a correction within three weeks after a demand. The count does not apply subsection (c). The public.law text states the same 20-day and three-week periods. The periods are the California correction clock for libel in a daily or weekly news publication or slander by radio broadcast. They are not an offer-to-make-amends window and they are not a national rule.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Calculate operative dates independently from the current rule and actual triggering event. Check exceptions and record the verified deadline.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.