(Patriot.Buzz) – Refusing to bow down to an unfair legal outcome, Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times is back in the spotlight.
The former GOP vice-presidential nominee sued the outlet after it suggested she encouraged Jared Loughner’s 2011 shooting of former Arizona Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
The latest twist comes from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals after a three-judge panel dismissed a 2022 jury verdict that favored the New York Times due to mistakes made by District Judge Jed Rakoff.
George Washington University law professor and renowned legal commentator Jonathan Turley hinted that this case could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
If it does, it might lead to changes in the New York Times v. Sullivan precedent, which offers special protection to those who make negative statements about “public figures.”
Turley explained that the standard “is an obvious benefit to the media. However, without a compelling argument for a constitutional standard for public figures, it seems more like a judicially maintained subsidy or shield.”
“The purpose of Times v. Sullivan was not to simply prop up the press. The Palin case and other cases could present a new opportunity for the court to review the doctrine,” he added.
The appellate court pointed out that Rakoff had initially dismissed the case using an improper process.
Then, after a reversal, he held a trial and handed the case to the jury, only to dismiss it again while the jury was still deliberating.
The court stated: “We conclude that the district court’s Rule 50 ruling improperly intruded on the province of the jury by making credibility determinations, weighing evidence, and ignoring facts or inferences that a reasonable juror could plausibly have found to support Palin’s case.”
Even though the case was dismissed, the jury was allowed to reach a verdict that favored the Times.
However, the court listed multiple errors by Rakoff that called the verdict’s reliability into question.
These included excluding evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction, a legally flawed response to a mid-deliberation jury question and the fact that jurors learned about the dismissal ruling during deliberations.
The case has been sent back for another trial, but Turley raised a concerning point.
It appears that Rakoff will be allowed to make decisions in the new trial despite being reversed twice for errors that harmed Palin’s case.
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