A Needed Limit

When local right-wing extremists attacked him as a "Communist collaborator" during his campaign for the Minnesota state legislature in 1962, Sociologist Arnold M. Rose paid little attention. Neither did the voters who elected him. But when the attacks continued in a newsletter put out by Christian Research Inc., a Minneapolis outfit run by ex-Schoolteacher Gerda Koch, who says she belongs to the John Birch Society, Rose was deluged with bitter letters, unordered merchandise and anonymous, late-night phone calls. After he decided not to run for re-election and returned to teaching at the University of Minnesota in 1964, Miss Koch attacked him so often that the state legislature was moved to probe "Communists" on the campus--and Rose was moved to sue for libel.

Organization X. Although the "proof" of his Communism consisted of nothing more than that he had helped Swedish Economist Gunnar Myrdal write An

American Dilemma--the famous study of U.S. Negroes that was cited by the Supreme Court in its 1954 school segregation decision--Rose had a tough legal precedent to contend with. Last year, in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court ruled that false criticism of a public official is not libelous unless the official proves actual malice. And since the court did not define "public official," lower courts have been moving toward an inclusive definition that would cover just about anyone in any capacity who becomes a figure in "public debate."

For the defense, Lawyer Jerome Daly argued that under the Times decision, Rose was a public figure both as legislator and professor. Daly declared that Rose was a member of "the Jewish usury element" which is "part of the Communist conspiracy" that is taking over Federal Reserve Banks. In her testimony, Miss Koch accused President Kennedy of "treason" for investigating disarmament and said that President Eisenhower was "engineered" into office by "them"--not Communists, exactly, but something more sinister called "Organization X."

Exaggerated Language. After 3 1/2-weeks of such rambling, which was countered by a dozen eminent witnesses who testified that Rose had no Communist connection whatever, District Court Judge Donald T. Barbeau instructed the jury that actual malice may be inferred from "exaggerated language" as well as from repeated publication after the victim's denial. More important, he ruled out the need to find actual malice after Rose left the legislature: Rose's professorship at the state university did not make him a public official. Thus advised, the jury awarded Rose $20,000 from Gerda Koch and Christian Research Inc. "I told my friends I would stand by the truth and sing praises to the Lord no matter what," said the defendant as she promised to appeal. If she keeps her promise, she may give the Supreme Court a chance to set some needed limits on libel by clarifying what the Times decision meant by "public official."

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