Court Opinion

ID: 9427669
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:21:32.928771+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:08.944407
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Brennan,
dissenting.
I dissent. I agree with the holding of the District Court, 429 F. Supp. 167, 176 (1977), affirmed by the Court of Appeals, 188 U. S. App. D. C. 185, 189, 578 F. 2d 427, 431 (1978), that petitioner qualified “as a public figure for the limited purpose of comment on his connection with, or involvement in, espionage in the 1940’s and ’50’s.” I further agree with the holding of the District Court, 429 F. Supp., at 178, affirmed by the Court of Appeals, 188 U. S. App. D. C., at 189, 578 F. 2d, at 431, that petitioner also qualified as a public figure in 1974. That conclusion follows, in my view, for the reasons stated by the Court of Appeals, ibid., 578 F. 2d, at 431: “The issue of Soviet espionage in 1958 and of Wolston’s involvement in that operation continues to be a legitimate topic of debate today, for that matter concerns the security of the United States. The mere lapse of time is not decisive.”
I disagree, however, with the holding of the District Court, affirmed by the Court of Appeals, that respondent Barron was entitled to summary judgment. In my view the evidence raised a genuine issue of fact respecting the existence of actual malice on his part. I would therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand to the District Court for trial of that issue.