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  • Chapter 4 - Ginzburg, Goldwater, and the Supreme Court

  • from Part I - Diagnosis from a Distance and Libel Law in the 1960s: Goldwater v. Ginzburg
  • John Martin-Joy
  • Book:
    Diagnosing from a Distance
    Published online:
    29 February 2020
    Print publication:
    19 March 2020, pp 122-134

  • Summary

    The losing side in Goldwater v. Ginzburg appealed, then asked the Supreme Court to review the appeals court verdict. The decision to file writ of certiorari (a formal request for the Court to review the case) was not an empty exercise. In the wake of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), no one knew exactly how the new doctrine of libel – “actual malice” – would be applied or what its limits might be. This chapter looks at how the Supreme Court viewed Ralph Ginzburg and Fact magazine and shows how at least some of the justices reasoned about hearing the case. I trace Ginburg’s hope that he could loosen libel law at the highest level and Goldwater’s hope that he could protect future public figures from libel even under the dramatically loosened standard represented by Sullivan. The Court’s decision was the occasion for some of Justice Hugo Black’s most eloquent words. As I show, throughout the process the media and Goldwater’s supporters took a keen interest in the outcome, just as Goldwater had hoped.