If a judge is called ‘corrupt’ by a defendant outside court in front of the media, or if something more unambiguously libelous is said, can the judge sue the defendant?
If a judge is called ‘corrupt’ by a defendant outside court in front of the media, or if something more unambiguously libelous is said, can the judge sue the defendant?
In American English, “corrupt” can refer to both the crime of corruption (eg quid pro quo deals with public officials) as well as seemingly abuses of discretion. For example, a city engineer has some amount of discretion when designing a new street, whether to dedicate more public space to automobiles or to restrict the space to become more like a public plaza, ie a living street with places to sit, eat, shop, and take in the air.
By objective professional standards, either approach could be appropriate if properly justified. But public sentiment could result in that engineer being called “corrupt” because they’re giving less favor toward automobiles, for example. That is, “corrupt” is an epithet to voice one’s displeasure at a discretionary decision. Also see sports umpires, who face similar (or worse) vitriol.