Wolff v. Smith

This is an action of slander, based on language used by the defendant which is said to have amounted to a statement that the plaintiff was a criminal. The plaintiff was a candidate for the office of treasurer of the city of Muskegon, and among the causes of action alleged is a conversation which occurred after his defeat. The alleged slander consisted in statements that the defendant had been informed that the plaintiff was a safe-cracker, and had served time in a penitentiary for safe-blowing. The defendant’s counsel was allowed to show by Mr. Niskern that about three years before the…