Hoxsey v. Fishbein (1949)
Background
Harry Hoxsey operated a cancer clinic in Dallas, Texas, employing a licensed doctor, nurses, and approximately twenty employees. Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and head of the AMA's Bureau of Investigation, had waged a decades-long campaign against Hoxsey, publishing articles calling him a "charlatan" and a "quack."
In 1947, Fishbein published an article titled "Medical Hucksters" in Hearst newspapers, which charged that Hoxsey's father had died of cancer while using the same remedies, and that Hoxsey had "hood-winked" jurists. Hoxsey sued for libel, seeking $500,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
The Trial
The case went to trial in federal court in Dallas. Hoxsey introduced over fifty witnesses who testified they had been treated for cancer at his clinic and had been cured. In many instances, photographs were introduced showing their condition before and after treatment.
Some defendants—including Fishbein, William Randolph Hearst Sr., and the American Medical Association—were dismissed because no valid service could be had on them. However, the trial proceeded against the newspaper defendants.
Fishbein's Admissions Under Oath
Although Fishbein was dismissed as a defendant before trial (due to service issues), he gave a deposition in November 1948 where he made several damaging admissions under oath:
The admission that Hoxsey's paste worked for external cancers was particularly significant. After decades of condemning Hoxsey as a complete fraud, the AMA's chief spokesman was forced to concede that at least part of the treatment had genuine therapeutic value. This admission is documented in Kenny Ausubel's When Healing Becomes a Crime, which cites the original deposition records.
Court Findings
Judge Atwell's findings were unequivocal:
The court found Fishbein's published statements to be:
Verdict
The jury found in favor of Harry Hoxsey. However, the damages awarded were symbolic:
$2.00
While the monetary award was trivial, the legal and moral victory was substantial. A federal court had officially ruled that the AMA's campaign against Hoxsey was based on false statements, and that his treatment had therapeutic value.
Aftermath
The verdict had significant consequences:
- Morris Fishbein was forced to resign as editor of JAMA in 1950, partly due to the embarrassment of his courtroom admissions.
- The 1953 Fitzgerald Report cited this verdict as evidence that the Hoxsey treatment had therapeutic value.
- The AMA shifted tactics, working through the FDA rather than direct attacks to suppress Hoxsey's practice.
Despite winning in court, Hoxsey's victory was short-lived. The FDA launched an unprecedented public campaign against him in 1956, and by 1960 all Hoxsey clinics in the United States were closed.