Jones v. Chapman

Chapman sued Jones in an action of slan-. der. The defendant pleaded, 1. Not guilty; 2. Not guilty within one year ; 3. That the defendant had heard the words from a third person!; and that the defendant, when he repeated them, gave his author. To the second plea, the plaintiff replied by denying it; and to the third, that the words were spoken falsely and maliciously. Yerdict for the plaintiff. The defendant moved for a new trial, but the motion was overruled, and judgment rendered on the verdict.

On the trial, the defendant asked the Court to instruct the jury that if the words were spoken…