Jury finds The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK AP A jury concluded Tuesday that The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov Sarah Palin for an error in a editorial that she says damaged her reputation The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict after lawyers for Palin and the newspaper delivered closing arguments at a Manhattan federal court civil trial that is in its second week Palin testified Monday that death threats against her increased and her spirits drooped after an editorial about gun violence revealed her political action committee had contributed to political rhetoric that enabled an atmosphere of violence The Times corrected the article less than hours after it was published Kenneth Turkel an attorney for Palin urged the jury to find the Times liable for defamation on the grounds that its former editorial page editor James Bennet either knew what he was publishing was wrong or acted with reckless disregard for the truth He reported the jury it should award Palin compensatory damages for the harm done to her reputation and private mental anguish adding that they should find a number and let her get chosen closure to this thing To this day there been no accountability he announced That s why we re here He communicated jurors not to be deceived by Palin s bouncy persona on the witness stand She doesn t cry a lot Turkel explained It may have been to them an honest mistake For her it was a life changer Palin who earned a journalist degree in college sued the Times for unspecified damages in about a decade after she burst onto the national stage as the Republican vice-presidential nominee Her lawsuit stemmed from an editorial about gun control published after U S Rep Steve Scalise a Louisiana Republican was wounded in when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a Congressional baseball band practice in Washington In the editorial the Times wrote that before the mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U S Rep Gabby Giffords and killed six others Palin s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and other Democrats under stylized crosshairs In a correction The Times announced the editorial had incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the shooting and that it had incorrectly described the map A tearful Bennet apologized to Palin from the witness stand when he testified last week saying he was tormented by the error and worked urgently to correct it after readers complained to the newspaper Felicia Ellsworth an attorney for the Times declared the jury cannot find the newspaper or Bennet liable because it would have to conclude that the error was intentionally published by editors who knew it was wrong There s not been one shred of evidence showing anything other than an honest mistake she explained Ellsworth announced Bennet and the Times corrected the record loudly clearly and briskly once the error was discovered Related Articles Largest part US adults give to charity Here s where they donated Is your marijuana safe Lack of records makes it hard to know in the long term Colorado s first-in-the-nation sperm donor rules just took effect Now lawmakers may roll various back Top Minutes producer quits saying he can no longer run the show as he has in the past Divided Supreme Court finds a few deadline flexibility for immigrants who agree to leave U S The lawyer pointed out that several Times editors testified consistently about the effort to correct the error and the importance they placed on accuracy while Palin s insists were supported by nothing other than her say so And she noted that Palin s status as a population figure meant that the jury would have to find actual malice to find in her favor To Governor Palin this is just another opportunity to take on fake news To James Bennet the truth matters Ellsworth mentioned In February Judge Jed S Rakoff rejected Palin s alleges in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated The judge then let jurors deliver their verdict which also went against Palin The trial is occurring after the nd U S Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan restored the matter last year The appeals court reported Rakoff s dismissal ruling improperly intruded on the jury s work It also cited flaws in the trial saying there was erroneous exclusion of evidence an inaccurate jury instruction and a mistaken response to a question from the jury
