Scovell v. Kingsley
Supreme Court of Connecticut
This was an action of slander, tried, under the general issue, at Brooklyn, January term, 1828, before Lanman, J. The words alleged as slanderous in the first and third counts of the declaration, were these : “ Amherst Scovell keeps a false record.
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This was an action of slander, tried, under the general issue, at Brooklyn, January term, 1828, before Lanman, J. The words alleged as slanderous in the first and third counts of the declaration, were these : “ Amherst Scovell keeps a false record. In a suit before him between Lovell Rogers and Hub-hard Phelps, he certified in the copies of the record, that the bond for prosecution was ten dollars, whereas in the original it was forty dollars ; and the judgment in that cause was rendered for fifteen dollars damages, whereas in the copies he has certified, that it was for twelve dollars…
1Opinion of the CourtDaggett, J.
It is a very plain principle of law, that the plaintiff could not support the issue joined on either of these counts, unless he proved the words to have been spoken before the date and service of the writ. The time, then, of speaking the words, became materia], and thus far indispensable. The testimony of Hartsliorne leaves it in entire uncertainty ; and thus it is not, and cannot be ascertained, whether the testimony is relevant and admissible, or irrelevant and therefore improper. Surely, such testimony cannot be legal; for the rule of law, and the only reasonable principle, is, that he who…
2Cited by3 opinions
- Learned v. TritchSupreme Court of Colorado · 1882
- Robinson v. FerrySupreme Court of Connecticut · 1836
- Bartlett v. EvartsSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1831