Markham v. Russell
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for slander, in charging the plaintiff with theft. The declaration averred the use of such language on only one occasion. At the trial in the superior court, before Vose, J., the plaintiff called OIney Goff as a witness, who testified that on one occasion the defendant said to him, “ There is no use for you to uphold that Markham boy. He stole the money and wallet belonging to Griffin. There is no use for any one to deny it.”
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Tort for slander, in charging the plaintiff with theft. The declaration averred the use of such language on only one occasion. At the trial in the superior court, before Vose, J., the plaintiff called OIney Goff as a witness, who testified that on one occasion the defendant said to him, “ There is no use for you to uphold that Markham boy. He stole the money and wallet belonging to Griffin. There is no use for any one to deny it.” No one else was present at this interview, and Goff testified that the words spoken by the defendant did not affect his opinion of the plaintiff, and that he still…
1Opinion of the CourtBigelow, C. J.
The effect of the ruling of the court was to withdraw from the consideration of the jury the question of damages. This was clearly erroneous. The evidence proved not only the utterance of slanderous words by the defendant, but also that they were spoken maliciously. Although it is true that no damages could be awarded for words spoken at any other time than that set forth in the declaration, yet it is also true that proof of the utterance of such slanderous charges on other previous occasions was competent, as- showing that the words charged were spoken maliciously, and thus tended to…
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