The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-26
VERDICT FOR DICK HEATH,
The Jury in the Examiner Libel
Suit Awards Him Dam
ages.
Attorneys w. H. L. Barnes and Grove
L. Johnson Argue at
Length.

The suit for $4,000 damages for libel
brought by Richard S. Heath against the
Examiner for referring to him as having
participated in barroom fight came to a
conclusion in the Superior Court yester-
day, a jury returning verdict for the
plaintiff and assessing the damages at
$500.
Yesterdays proceedings consisted mainly
of argument by counsel. Attorney W.
H. L. Barnes opened, Grove L. Johnson
replied and Barnes closed. Both attorneys
made a special effort, and the courtroom
of Judge Murphy, where the case was
tried before Judge Hunt and jury, was
crowded throughout the day.
General Barnes opened by picturing the
wide influence for good or evil of a metro
politan journal, and insisted upon the ne
cessity for fair and careful treatment of
the news. He said that the Examiner had
been affected by animus against Heath in
publishing this libel, and that its retrac-
ton was, if possible, worse than the ar
ticle complained of.
Counsel compared the character of the
witnesses who had spoken for and against
his clients reputation and condemned the
testimony of any iunketing party of men,
who, on slight acquaintance, had, he
said, come to swear away a mans char
acter. He explained that there were COM
pensating damages and exemplary dam
ages, and that the nature of this assault
on his client could only be met by the Jury
awarding exemplary damages. The gem
eral pictured the acute misery and shame
occasioned the innocent victim and his
relatives from a Iibelous article, and plainly
stated that the Examiner in duplicating
in oi, 4
sired to further embarrass the man it
believed guilty of the McWhirter murder.
Grove l.. Johnson almost Immediately
in his reply took the ground that Heath
was a rowdy and barroom brawler and
as such could not be hbeled in being mixed
up in a saloon fight. He declared that if
the article had been written about Corbett
or Sullivan they would not have recognized
it as libel. AS q matter OF fact the EX-
aminer had depicted Heath as a chivalric
champion of a friend who had been as
saulted. He described the necessity for
great papers to disseminate intelligence
and uphold morality and maintained that
by its retraction the Examiner had done
everything possible or needed in order TO
appease the feelings OF a rowdy and man
of fighting blood. He declared that his
seventeen Fresno witnesses who had testi-
fed to Heath's bad character were in
initely more worthy of credence than
Heath's eleven Sar Francisco witnesses to
his good character. At the most Heath
was not entitled to more than 81 damages
In his closing remarks General Barnes
deprecated the attack on his client, who
he declared had been proved reformed
man. He stated that he himself had taken
the case merely out of regard for General
Heath, the young mans father, for friend
ship for W. W. Foote. Heath's attorney,
and also because he believed young Heath
had been bounded without the least JUS
tice. He did not seek money in the case,
and at first had offered to settle on condi-
ton that he received vindication which
might be made part of Heath's record in
his trial then coming on. That vindica-
ton had been delayed, and now it was left
to the jury to give it.
The jury was out only little over an
hour, and upon it's return rendered the
verdict as stated. The usual stay of pro-
ceedings TO allow of an appeal was granted
Silk is so cheap in Madagascar that the
3 H. Ill