Martin v. Roy

Wellesley College professor Tony Martin brought a defamation action in the Superior Court against student reporter Avik Roy, based upon a statement1 contained in an article published in the September, 1993, edition of a WellesleyM.I.T. student journal called Counterpoint. Roy moved for summary judgment. A Superior Court judge denied the motion on the ground that Martin’s status as a public figure was a factual issue to be determined by a jury upon appropriate instructions *644from the trial judge.2 Subsequent to this ruling, Roy filed a new motion to determine Martin’s status. Another Superior…