Jury Verdicts

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In an opinion today, the Second Circuit ordered a retrial of Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against the New York Times (see our prior coverage here). The suit arises from an editorial suggesting that her political action committee’s use of “stylized cross hairs” over the districts of several members of Congress in online materials incited the mass shooter who killed six people and wounded many others (including Representative Gabby Giffords) in 2011.

The Second Circuit reversed on multiple grounds, one of which relates to the unusual circumstances surrounding Judge Rakoff granting the Times judgment as a matter of law while the jury was still deliberating.  Although the jurors likewise found the Times not liable, certain of them received “push notifications” on their phones about Judge Rakoff’s ruling before reaching their decision. Judge Rakoff concluded that the notifications did not “remotely affect” the verdict, but the Second Circuit found otherwise, noting the “special position of influence” that a judge holds:Continue Reading Second Circuit: “Push Notifications” to Jurors Before Their Verdict Requires Retrial of Sarah Palin’s Defamation Case Against the New York Times

In the long-running defamation case brought by Sarah Palin against the New York Times (see our prior coverage here), Judge Rakoff issued an opinion yesterday explaining his ruling from the bench granting judgment as a matter of law to the Times. The ruling was announced orally to counsel at the close of trial, before the jury returned its verdict. The jury subsequently ruled in the Times’ favor, as well.

The central issue in the case was whether the Times acted with “actual malice” when it issued an editorial erroneously suggesting that the actions of Palin’s political action committee – using “stylized cross hairs” over the districts of several members of Congress in online materials – was responsible for the “political incitement” of Jared Lee Loughner, who killed six people and wounded many others, including Representative Gabby Giffords, in a 2011 mass shooting.

Judge Rakoff found that the author, James Bennet, did not act with actual malice because, among other things, he was so quick to direct that the matter be corrected the morning after the editorial was published:
Continue Reading Judge Rakoff: It Would “Chill Protected Speech” To Hold NY Times Liable for Careless, Quickly-Corrected Editorial About Sarah Palin