"However, free speech rights do come into play when the victim is a public figure like a politician, because that person has to prove there was “actual malice” behind the false statement." This is where the state diverges from common law. At common law a defamed person is inconsequential, the substantive matter is the intent of the party responsible for the defamation. The original remedy was that the responsible party would suffer the same consequences as they had intended for the party that they defamed.