The Goldmark Case: An American Libel Trial

In 1962 John Goldmark, cattle rancher, Harvard Law School graduate, and distinguished three-term state legislator for a lightly populated area in north central Washington, was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid for reelection. He and his wife, Sally, had been accused of being communists by a small group of right-wing extremists. The Goldmarks sued their accusers for libel and when their case came to trial in the winter of 1963-64 it has become a cause celebre throughout the country.

Witnesse...