Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald was the Green Beret convicted of murdering his own wife

and daughters (cf. Firing Line #S580). He had now sued Joe McGinniss, the author of a

book on the case, not for libel (where the First Amendment protections would have been

clear) but for "fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract,

breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing," on the grounds that Mr.

McGinniss had seemed sympathetic but had wound up concluding that MacDonald was

guilty. This hour offers a fascinating tour through the implications of the First

Amendment and the workings of our civil court system. JM: "One of the jurors said ...

something ... which I found rather chilling, if interesting, and that was, 'We felt there

must have been something wrong here or else the judge would not have permitted it to

get this far.' "