Charles Taze Russell sued John Jacob Ross for criminal libel in 1913 after Ross published a pamphlet full of personal attacks on him. Critics of Russell have made much of the failure of this case to reach the Canadian Supreme Court, but because the court transcript has been missing for decades it has not really allowed researchers to find out what happened. Discoveries in more recent years have changed this. We can now understand how faulty legal advice doomed Russell's action to failure from the start, irrespective of the merits or demerits of the case. Those who repeat past accusations without checking for themselves, and who resort to ad hominem attacks should take note. Although I doubt they will.