The New York Times Prevails Again Against Sarah Palin in Her Defamation Suit Retrial

A jury in Manhattan delivered a defeat to Governor Palin on Tuesday in her libel case against the New York Times. It is the second time Ms. Palin has lost the lawsuit.The case went to the jury Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments. It took the jury about two hours to deliver the verdict. The lawsuit centered on a 2017 editorial that falsely tied Ms. Palin’s rhetoric to the 2011 shooting in Arizona that killed six people and gravely wounded Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.Ms. Palin insisted that the Times’ conduct met the standard for defamation of public figures — “actual malice” — under the Supreme Court precedent that governs defamation law — New York Times v. Sullivan. Actual malice implies that the newspaper was aware that what it was publishing was incorrect but published it regardless.Ms. Palin had hoped to use the case to eventually have the Supreme Court revisit Sullivan where Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch have indicated they could support limits to the malice standard or getting rid of it.Leaving the court after Tuesday’s verdict, Ms. Palin said she hadn’t talked with her legal team yet about a possible appeal.Ms. Palin’s lawyer wrapped their case by saying the New York Times apologized to everyone but her. “She is tough but this was too much,” Ken Turkel said.The Times did acknowledge that the editorial was inaccurate, but called it an “honest mistake.” It published a correction below the editorial the next day and vigorously defended itself.In the defense’s closure, a lawyer for the Times, Felicia Ellsworth, said the case was about two sentences and 14 hours before the paper made a correction. She said a mistake was not enough for Ms. Palin to win her case.Ms. Palin testified on Monday that she was very upset when she found out what the paper had written and has claimed the editorial damaged her career as a political commentator. “I felt defenseless. It just kicked the oomph right out of you,” Ms. Palin told the jury.The former New York Times opinion editor who wrote the editorial told the jury on Friday he “blew it” when he made the mistake. “I do apologize to Gov. Palin for this mistake,” a choked up Mr. Bennet said. Mr. Bennet is the brother of Democratic Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, who is a possible presidential candidate in 2028. “I was really upset, and I still am, obviously.Ms. Palin initially sued in 2017. The paper was cleared of wrongdoing in the first trial in February 2022 but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ordered a retrial last year, citing errors made by Judge Jed Rakoff.Judge Rakoff, 81, oversaw the retrial despite the appeals court pointing the finger at him for saying he planned to toss the claims in the first trial no matter what verdict the jury came up with. Some jurors found out that information via a push alert on their phones as they deliberated.The case took place amid a landscape where other media companies have settled high-profile defamation cases, including one brought by the president.

The New York Times Prevails Again Against Sarah Palin in Her Defamation Suit Retrial

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