Tom C. Clark

“ I cannot understand why a statement which a jury is permitted to read as meaning 'A is a thief' should become absolutely privileged if it is read as meaning 'A, B, C, and D are thieves.'
Without receding in any way from our ruling in New York Times that impersonal criticism of government cannot be made a basis for a libel action by an official who heads the branch or agency involved, I dissent from the Court's conclusion that this is such a case. ”

“ This is a very different case from New York Times, where the alleged libel concerned not an identified small group responsible for the running of a particular public enterprise, but a criticism of 'the police' generally in the discharge of their duties. It seems manifest that in instructing the jury as to a 'small group,' the trial judge was not allowing the plaintiff to transform impersonal governmental criticism into an individual cause of action, but was simply referring to this traditional tort doctrine that more than one person can be libeled by the same statement. ”

“ Thus, a statement that all lawyers are dishonest or that all ministers are liars is not defamatory of any particular lawyer or minister unless the surrounding circumstances indicate that he was the person intended.'
This and the trial court's formulation can scarcely be thought too indefinite, for they reflect standards successfully applied over the years in numerous state cases. ”