Libel: Fallout from the Times

During his 1962 re-election campaign, Washington Democratic State Representative John Goldmark and his ex-Communist wife Sally were loudly labeled subversives by the weekly Tonasket Tribune and some local John Birchers. When Goldmark lost, he and his wife slapped a $225,000 libel suit on five of their critics. Last winter the trial jury denied recovery to Sally, but awarded $40,000 to Goldmark on the grounds that he was beaten by criticism that overreached the limits of fair comment (TIME, Jan. 31).

Last week the Goldmarks got a shock: Superior Court Judge Theodore Turner granted...

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