A lawsuit filed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin against The New York Times has been reinstated by a federal court.
Palin, a former Republican vice presidential nominee, filed the lawsuit after the publication of a 2017 editorial that alleged her campaign encouraged the shooting of then-Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011. The editorial in question was published the same day a mass shooting occurred at a congressional baseball practice.
No information was provided to suggest she was connected to the shooting. Ms Palin sued the paper, alleging that staff there knowingly published false statements to smear her.
New York Times not liable in Sarah Palin defamation lawsuit
Sarah Palin, then a candidate for the US House of Representatives, spoke before former US President Donald Trump at the “Save America” rally in Anchorage, Alaska. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the case midway through the jury's verdict in February 2022. Judge Rakoff allowed the jury to finish deliberating and reach a verdict, which ultimately went in favor of The New York Times, but lawyers pointed out that the jurors received notice of the judge's dismissal from the paper midway through their verdict.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday overturned the dismissal and ruling of the case, finding that Rakoff committed a series of errors and is entitled to a new trial in the case.
“There is no problem in concluding that the average jury verdict would be affected if multiple jurors knew that the judge had already ruled in favor of one party on the very claims the jury was tasked with deciding,” Judge John Walker Jr. of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in the rejection.
Sarah Palin sues New York Times over editorial linking her to Giffords shooting
“Regardless of what the jurors say in subsequent questioning, we believe it is highly unlikely that it will be tainted by a verdict they reached with knowledge of the verdict the judge had already announced,” Walker said, responding to the jurors' argument that their dismissal and subsequent notification did not affect the verdict.
Cars drive past the New York Times Building in New York City. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
The court cited several other issues with the way it handled Palin's case, including limitations on her claim that editorial editor James Bennet authorized unfounded accusations against her to politically support his brother, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.
Palin's lawyers called the ruling “a major step forward in the process of holding publishers accountable for content that misleads readers and the public.”
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“The truth deserves a level playing field, and Governor Palin looks forward to presenting her case to a jury that has been 'presented with the relevant evidence and properly instructed as to the law,'” attorney Shane Vogt added.
The New York Times called the verdict “disappointing” but said it was confident the case would again be dismissed at a retrial.
Importantly, the appeals court did not find that Rakoff was biased against Palin and therefore remains eligible to serve as review judge.
