Sarah Palin’s Bid for New Libel Trial Against The Times Is Denied

Lawyers for Ms. Palin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are pleased to see the court’s decision, and remain confident that the judge and jury decided the case fairly and correctly,” said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for The Times.

The libel suit by Ms. Palin, a former Republican vice presidential candidate and governor of Alaska, focused on an editorial that falsely linked her campaign rhetoric to a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona. The Times corrected the editorial the morning after it was published.

Ms. Palin asserted that the editorial had been damaging to her reputation and career. Lawyers for The Times said it was an “honest mistake” and there was never any intention to harm Ms. Palin.

The trial came at a moment when people who believe journalists should be held liable for getting something wrong having been pushing to have the Supreme Court reconsider the issue. The current standard of libel was established by the 1964 case The New York Times Company v. Sullivan.

The end of the trial earlier this year was not without drama. While jury deliberations were underway on Feb. 14, Judge Rakoff announced he intended to dismiss the lawsuit — even if the jury ruled in Ms. Palin’s favor — because she had failed to show that The Times acted out of actual malice. The following day, the jury rejected Ms. Palin’s lawsuit.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/business/sarah-palin-new-york-times-libel.html