Poston v. Washington, Alexandria, & Mt. Vernon Railroad

Slander and Lieel; Publication; Grand Juries; Privileged Communications. 1. A publication which tends to bring the person referred to into ridicule, contempt, and disgrace is libelous per se, even though not charging him with the commission of a crime. (Following Bailey v. Holland, 7 App. D. C. 184; Washington Gaslight Co. v. Lansden, 9 App. D. C. 508, and Washington Times Co. v. Doioney, 26 App. D. C. 258, 6 A. & E. Ann. Cas. 765.) 2. In an action against a railroad company for libel, growing out of the newspaper publication by the defendant of a report of a grand jury impaneled at the instance of the plaintiff, and before which he testified as a witness, which report contained charges of improper conduct by plaintiff, the plaintiff cannot raise any question as to whether the grand jury was irregularly summoned, or composed of unqualified persons; as such an issue cannot be raised in a coir lateral proceeding. 3. The practice of investigations by grand jury under the old English system, in which the institution of the grand jury had its origin, reviewed. 4. The newspaper publication by a railroad company of the report of a special grand jury, impaneled under the laws of Virginia, to investigate charges of citizens that the railroad was maintaining a public nuisance, containing statements tending to bring one of such citizens into ridicule, contempt, and disgrace, and exonerating the company, but not constituting an indictment or presentment of anyone, is the report of an extra-judicial proceeding, and is not privileged, and will support an action for libel by such citizen against the railroad company.

Hearing on an appeal by tbe plaintiff from a judgment of tbe Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, on demurrer to a declaration in an action of libel, the plaintiff declining to amend. The Court in the opinion stated the facts as follows: This is an action by Phil D. Poston against the Washington,. Alexandria, & Mount Vernon Railway Company, and Robert A. Chester, to recover damages for the publication of a libel. Plaintiff’s amended declaration alleged substantially that he was a resident of Fairfax county, Virginia, engaged in business in the District of Columbia, and had frequent occasion to use the late cars of the defendant railway company between thé city of Washington and Falls Church, Virginia. That disorder frequently .existed in said cars, caused by drunken persons, and they were often overcrowded. That plaintiff and others made complaints to the defendants, which proved ineffectual. That thereafter the plaintiff brought said conditions to the attention of the judge of the circuit court of Alexandria county, Virginia, who summoned a special grand jury to investigate the same, and to report to the court whether or not presentments should be found against defendant for permitting the nuisances complained, of. That said grand jury was irregularly and illegally summoned, and not composed of disinterested freeholders and bona fide residents of Alexandria county, Virginia. That said grand jury, in violation of their oaths and the instructions of the court, proceeded in an illegal manner, and, on February 18, 1909, made a report in writing to said court, which, among other things, contained certain false, malicious, and libelous statements of and concerning plaintiff, reflecting upon his credibility as a witness, and in fact and effect charging him with committing the crime of perjury before said grand jury. That said malicious statements, being so far in excess of the right or duty of said grand jury under the instructions of the court, were expunged by the court as irrelevant to the issues involved. That the said false and malicious report was known to, connived at, and procured by the said defendants. That defendants, well knowing the premises, but maliciously contriving and intending to injure plaintiff in his good name, reputation, etc., and to bring him into scorn, public scandal, and disgrace, and to injure him in the community where he lived and carried on business, and to vex, harass, oppress, and injure him, did, on February 18, 1909, obtain a copy of said report before the same had been recorded, and did falsely, wickedly, and maliciously, compose and publish, and cause to be composed and published, of and concerning the plaintiff and the testimony given by him under oath before said grand jury, in a newspaper called the Washington Post, printed and published in the city of Washington, and widely circulated in Alexandria and Fairfax counties, Virginia, a copy of said false and malicious report. That they caused to be composed, prefixed thereto, and published therewith, certain scandalous, malicious, and defamatory headlines, observations, and comments. The said publication, with the innuendoes explanatory thereof, and the headlines and catch lines, included, thereof, reads as follows: Good Order on Oars. Grand Jury Fully Exonerates W. A. & F. O. Railway, Complainant is Discredited (meaning thereby the said plaintiff) . Complete Investigation of Charges of Disorder on Cars Proves Them Groundless — Publication of Trumped-up Accusations Severely Condemned — Railway Company Takes Every Pre- ' caution (meaning thereby that the accusations against said railroad company were trumped-up by said plaintiff and were false). The special grand jury of the Alexandria county circuit court, in session at Port Myer, yesterday made a report exonerating the Washington, Arlington, & Falls Church Railway of the charges of disorder and other reprehensible conduct on its cars. The report follows: “To Hon. J. B. T. Thornton, judge of circuit court, Alexandria county, Va.: “We, the special grand jury now attending the Alexandria county circuit court at its February term, 1909, after having made a most careful, painstaking, and exhaustive investigation of the complaint to said court, dated February 12, 1909, and signed by William H. Lynch, Talbott Lynch, Edward Ballinger, W. T. Sinclair,-Hough, F. H. Poston, and Phil D. Poston, charging that disorder, vicious conduct, drunkenness, and other reprehensible conditions are wilfully permitted to exist on the cars of the Washington, Arlington, & Falls Church Railroad Company, and after the most patient examination of a great number of witnesses concerning the matters complained of, hereby report to your honorable court that the said complainant (meaning thereby the complaint made by the said plaintiff and others to the Honorable J. B. T. Thornton, as aforesaid) is so grossly overdrawn, so misleading in character, and is such an exaggeration and misstatement of facts as testified to before this grand jury as to suggest, if not absolute untruthfulness, at least a malicious intent, not only to unjustly implicate the said railroad company, which appears to be blameless in this matter, but also to spread abroad a reputation for disorder in this community, and on the cars of said railroad company, as shall be a positive detriment not only to the community at large, but in a greater degree to the individual members thereof and to all property interests as well, and to prejudice the minds of the public, and create the impression that lawlessness is rampant in Alexandria county (meaning thereby that the said plaintiff had testified falsely with a malicious intent to injure said railroad company and the community through which it passed, as well as the residents thereof).” Seeks to Maintain Order. “Whereas the testimony presented before this jury shows conclusively that the said railroad company is using its utmost endeavors to maintain order over its lines, and, as a matter of proven fact, is keeping much better order on its cars than is usual on either city or suburban lines; and that at the very worst, such sporadic cases of disorder as sometimes occur are usually mild in character and quickly controlled, being confined to the late cars, especially on Saturday night; “And this grand jury wishes especially to call attention to the statements contained in the newspaper articles published in the Washington Herald, February 8, 1909, and in the Evening Star, February 9, 1909, which the testimony of no less than four responsible witnesses, whose high standing for honor, integrity, and truthfulness cannot be questioned, and who were passengers on the car at the time referred to in said newspaper articles, shows to have been misleading in every particular, besides which the sworn testimony of the party lodging said complaint (meaning thereby the said plaintiff) with your honorable court, as well as that of many other witnesses, shows that said newspaper articles were cooked up at the house of said complainant (meaning thereby that the said plaintiff had not only inspired and cooked up newspaper articles which were untrue and misleading, but had also testified to such as being the fact before said grand jury) out of several incidents which occurred at periods of time far remote from each other, and which the reporters of the said newspapers served to the public as the successive experiences of one continuous midnight ride.” Protests against Untruths. “And this grand jury hereby wishes to protest in the most earnest and emphatic manner against such untruthful and hurtful publications, and to condemn in unmeasured terms the meddlesome and misguided spirit which would inspire such misleading statements, since the result cannot be otherwise than detrimental to the best interests of our county, and a direct material loss to every member of this community. “And, further, this jury wishes to express its indignation at the harmful and unjust course of the said newspapers in publishing unedited and unverified articles of the scandalous and libelous character of those under consideration, and we most sincerely deprecate the meddlesome interference of the principal complainant in this matter (meaning thereby the plaintiff), who turns out to be a man who is not even a resident of this county, but who seems to be possessed with a spirit of enmity and unfairness towards the said railroad company, which has been fully termed crankiness, but by reason of a peculiar altruistic twist, is likely to gain a hearing from those who do not look beneath the surface; a man, too, whose testimony before this jury has not only crumbled to nothing when subjected to even a mild cross-examination, but has been unsupported by a single witness of the dozens which he himself has produced, besides being flatly contradicted by many of the same witnesses. A man, also, whom testimony before this jury has shown to be guilty of destroying the property of said railroad company to the extent of smashing a car window for the ostensible purpose of ventilation (thereby meaning to charge the plaintiff with having published or caused to be published unverified and untruthful articles of a scandalous and libelous character against said railroad company, and the community through which it ran, and with being a crank, unworthy of belief, and who had in fact testified falsely before said grand jury, and who had also been guilty of destroying private property, without the consent of the owner).” Management is Commended. “And now, after a careful survey of all the testimony submitted, relating to the matters complained of, it is the sense of this jury that in order to meet any possible cases of boisterousness or disorder on the late cars out of Washington or from Bosslyn, that extra men should be detailed to ride on said late cars to give assistance to the conductor, should such become necessary. “'But, since the testimony shows that this has been the practice of the said railroad company for some time past, there is no further recommendation that seems to be necessary, and it only remains for this jury to commend the present management of said railroad company for its efforts to give our people a safe, commodious, and efficient suburban car service, and to assure the said management its efforts in this direction are appreciated, and that in all betterments of said service the sentiments and support of the responsible element of this community is heartily with it, recognizing as we do that the best interests of both the railroad company and the community through which it passes are identical. “Finally, it is the unanimous sense of this jury, based on the testimony submitted, that this community as well as the said railroad company have received a gratuitous and unmerited slap in the face by the aforesaid publications, and therefore have a moral right to demand, in the interests of all concerned, that the report of this jury be published in said newspapers in at least as conspicuous a manner as that given to the said articles containing said charges, and we hereby request your honorable court to furnish said newspapers with a copy of this report for publication. Thomas J. De Lashmutt. S. J. Mulhall. ■ A. D. Torreyson. Arthur J. Porter. Bobert L. King. I. N. Garrison. E. S. Corbett. Julian P. Baldwin, Foreman.” Some further allegations follow, regarding the motives of defendants, the nature of the charges against plaintiff, etc., and the conclusion is that he has been damaged in the sum of $15,000. Defendants demurred to the declaration, assigning as matters of law to be argued on the hearing: 1. No cause of action alleged. 2. The report of the grand jury is a privileged communication. 3. The published report makes no charges that can be construed to be libelous. 4. The legality and jurisdiction of the grand jury cannot be questioned in this proceeding. 5. The proceedings were instigated by plaintiff and others, and he can have no action for the publication of the result. The demurrers were sustained, and, plaintiff declining to amend, judgment was entered for the defendants.