Kirk v. Marcum

McDONALD, Judge:

On Wednesday, June 14, 1978, the appel-lee/cross-appellant, Homer F. Marcum, owner and publisher of the weekly newspaper, “The Martin Countian,” printed a story on the front page of that paper concerning an alleged fight between Helen Horn, a Martin County jail matron, and the appellant/cross-appellee, Willie Kirk, the Martin County Judge. The headline read, “Powder Keg! Jailer’s wife, judge, clerk duke it out in fist-fight....” Since the publication of this story, Kirk and Marcum have been “duking it out” in the courts. The appellant, Kirk, steadfastly asserts that he has…