Ollman v. Evans

750 F.2d 970 (1985)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Ollman v. Evans

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
750 F.2d 970 (1985)

Facts

Bertell Ollman (plaintiff) was a New York University political science professor. Rowland Evans and Robert Novak (collectively, the authors) (defendants) wrote an op-ed column about Ollman in the Washington Post. The authors stated that although Ollman was a respected Marxist scholar who was nominated to head the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, his colleagues considered him a Marxist political activist. The authors also mentioned that Ollman finished last twice in elections for membership on the council of the American Political Science Association. The authors asked whether those electoral losses represented a professional judgment by Ollman’s colleagues. The authors then stated that in one of Ollman’s articles, Ollman claimed that the purpose of his political science course was to convert students to socialism. The authors quoted an anonymous, putatively well-known political scientist who stated, “Ollman has no status within the profession, but is a pure and simple activist.” The authors asked the following questions at the end of their column: What is the true measurement of Ollman's scholarship? Does he intend to use the classroom for indoctrination? The authors stated that academia must resolve this crisis, not politicians. The authors questioned Ollman’s intentions to use the classroom to prepare for what Ollman called “the revolution.” Ollman sued the authors for libel. The district court granted the authors’ motion for summary judgment, concluding the column simply reflected the authors’ opinion and was absolutely protected by the First Amendment. Ollman appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Starr, J.)

Concurrence (Bork, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Edwards, J.)

Dissent (Scalia, J.)

Dissent (Wald, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership