The opinion of the court was delivered by: KEECH
This cause came on to be heard on October 31 and November 1, 1951; and upon consideration of the pleadings filed herein, the testimony adduced in open court, and argument of counsel, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:
1. The plaintiff, Irving Lubore, was and now is a detective sergeant in the District of Columbia, and was and still is a man of good repute.
2. The defendant, Pittsburgh Courier Publishing Co., Inc., a corporation, publishes a newspaper of general circulation in the District of Columbia and elsewhere.
3. That on June 4, 1949, the said defendant published in the Washington Edition of its said newspaper, which was generally distributed in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, the following article:
'Lawyer To Seek Further Probe
'(Picture of Miss Roxie Henry)
'Two James Brothers Convicted on Charge of $ 60,000 Robbery
'So far as the Government is concerned the sensational Richard R. Beckley $ 60,000 safe robbery was satisfactorily concluded with the conviction of Stance and Oliver James following a two weeks trial in Judge Henry A. Schweinhaut's court last week.
'However, several questions and unusual circumstances were left unexplained when the trial ended. Principal among these was what happened to $ 1,225 alleged to have been confiscated by a Police Detective Sergeant who searched the home of an alleged girl friend of one of the convicted men.
'Stance James, 29, 1332 Ninth Street, N.W., and his brother, Oliver, 24, 1600 A Street, N.E., were arrested Sunday, Feb. 20, and charged with housebreaking and larceny.
'Retired Police Detective Sergeant Richard Beckely, 1800 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., identified Stance and Louis Singleton, 40, 910 Westminster Street, N.W., as two of the three men who put a gun on him and ...