Palin Wins New NYT Libel Trial in Appeals Court

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Palin Wins New NYT Libel Trial

In a pivotal ruling on Wednesday, Sarah Palin emerged victorious as the Second Circuit Court granted her a new trial in her defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The appellate court determined that U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff had unfairly influenced the verdict by improperly dismissing the case during jury deliberations.

Palin Wins New NYT Libel Trial : A Blow to the Times

The three-judge panel unanimously reversed the 2022 trial’s outcome, where Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, had been defeated. The initial case centered on a New York Times editorial that wrongly linked the 2011 shooting of ex-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords to a map from Palin’s political action committee. The editorial inaccurately suggested a connection between the shooting and a map with political districts marked in crosshairs.

Judge Rakoff had previously ruled as a matter of law that Palin failed to prove actual malice on the part of former Times opinions editor James Bennet, thus dismissing the case mid-deliberation. The Second Circuit’s opinion, authored by U.S. Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr., overturned both the dismissal and the subsequent jury verdict.

Preserving the Jury’s Role

Judge Walker emphasized the jury’s crucial role in the judicial system, stating, “The jury is sacrosanct in our legal system, and we have a duty to protect its constitutional role.” The court criticized Judge Rakoff for potentially skewing the trial’s outcome, including issues like erroneous jury instructions and the exclusion of evidence beneficial to Palin.