Appeals court revives Palin lawsuit alleging defamation

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin can get a new trial in her defamation case against The New York Times. The former vice presidential Republican nominee sued the newspaper and its former editorial page editor James Bennet after a 2017 editorial. The offending editorial erroneously connected her to a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that killed six people. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the lawsuit in 2022.

The three appeals judges on Wednesday cited several errors by Rakoff during the trial two years ago, including accidentally excluding evidence and tainting the jury. The ruling overturns Rakoff’s dismissal and gives Palin another chance in the courtroom.

What problems were there with the 2022 trial? Rakoff inaccurately instructed the jury and incorrectly answered a question from the jury during deliberations, according to the opinion penned by John M. Walker Jr. for the three-judge panel. The jury was also tainted by smartphone push notifications reporting that Rakoff would dismiss the case for lack of clear and convincing evidence. Jurors claimed the notifications had no effect on their deliberations.

The appeals court on Wednesday held that every error called the verdict’s reliability into question. The jury is sacrosanct in the American legal system, and courts must protect its constitutional role, Walker wrote. Courts must ensure that the jury’s role is not usurped by judges, according to Walker’s opinion. Juries must receive relevant proffered evidence and proper legal instruction, the opinion continued.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report for more detailed background on Palin’s lawsuit.