At the beginning of the trial, the judge incorrectly names the case as a slander suit. A moment later, one of the lawyers claims that it is a libel suit. Then, after court is dismissed, it is again called a slander suit. Since it deals with a story written in the local newspaper, that makes it a case of libel. Libel is a written or published defamatory statement, while slander is defamation that is spoken by the defendant.
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