According to Universal Hub, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed a libel suit against the news editor the student newspaper at UMass Boston based on the fact the paper accurately reported accounts by campus police.
The issue all started when the newspaper posted in the March 13, 2013 a photo of a man and that campus police was looking for him in connection to some “suspicious activity” on the shuttle bus. This was related to an incident on the bus where the driver noticed a man taking photos on the bus and it seemed like he was taking photos of women on the bus. The driver asked the man to stop. Campus police arrived but the man had left the bus by then.
Police then provided the newspaper with a photo in hopes to find the man. They also provided a description of what the man may or may not have been doing on the bus.
Evidently the man in the photo was an employee of UMass Boston’s IT department who claimed he was taking photos of safety issues on the bus. The man – Jon Butcher – filed a libel and emotional-distress suit against the editor of the paper.
A suit which the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed due to the fact the editor is covered by a “legal principle that protects journalists reporting on “official” statements and actions.”
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
