"My reaction was that for Tony Martin to havesued this student was incredibly short-sighted,"Silverglate said, "This professor, more than manyothers, relies on academic freedom because he isso controversial."

Around the time of Counterpoint article, Martinwas being attacked across the country for hisclassroom use of a book published by the Nation ofIslam.

The text, The Secret Relationship betweenBlacks and Jews, was assigned reading in oneof Martin's Africana courses during the 1992-93academic year.

Also in 1993, Martin earned negative publicitywhen he published a book of his own, The JewishOnslaught: Dispatches from the WellesleyBattlefront.

After the book was released, Martin was accusedof anti-Semitism in national media outletsincluding The New York Times and "This Week withDavid Brinkley."

Roy said he found it "puzzling" that, with allof the controversy surrounding Martin, theprofessor chose to sue him rather than pursue morevisible critics like Washington Post columnistRichard Cohen.

Counterpoint, which was started by Roy in 1991,had a circulation of about 1500-2000 when theMartin article was published.

In dismissing the libel charges, the judgeruled that the contested statement in Roy'sarticle was neither false nor defamatory.Fabricant also found that Roy did not act withmalice. Finally, she ruled that Martin suffered nodamages as a result of the article.

"Professor Martin has done more damaged to hisown reputation by bringing this suit and losing itthan any that could have been done by [Roy],"Bertsche said.

"It takes a special kind of professor to reachout and sue a student, and it's unusual," Bertscheadded.

Silverglate, who included Martin in a bookabout the violation of First Amendment rights oncollege campuses, expressed similar sentimentsabout the nature of Martin's case.

Martin appears as a victim of free speechinfringement in Silverglate's book, The ShadowUniversity, published this year andco-authored by Alan C. Kors of the University ofPennsylvania.

"Of all professors to sue a student for libel,Martin should be among the last not the first,"Silverglate said.

Martin has thirty days to file an appeal fromthe date of the verdict