Sketch shows Sarah Palin in federal court in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (Court Sketch by Jane Rosenberg) NEW YORK - A judge is going to dismiss Sarah Palin's libel case against the New York Times.The judge ruled the former Alaska governor's case over a 2017 editorial should be thrown out because her lawyers didn't provide evidence that the paper purposely published false information or acted with malice to damage her reputation.U.S.
District Judge Jed Rakoff says he will not file his ruling until after the jury reaches its verdict because he expects it to be appealed.A widely circulated New York Times editorial falsely linked Palin to a mass shooting.A Times lawyer conceded the newspaper had made a mistake but argued there was no evidence it had set out to damage Palin.
The paper ran a correction but never apologized to Palin.In his closing argument, Times lawyer David Axelrod called the case "incredibly important because it’s about freedom of the press."PALIN SAYS 'OVER MY DEAD BODY' ABOUT COVID VACCINEThe First Amendment protects journalists "who make an honest mistake when they write about a person like Sarah Palin … That’s all this was about — an honest mistake," Axelrod said.To prevail in the suit, the plaintiff "needs to show that it wasn’t just an honest mistake" but "that they printed something that they knew was false," he said.
The evidence showed "Gov. Palin can’t come close to meeting that burden," he added.He also pointed out that the Palin lawsuit makes no claim that she lost income because of the editorial. "She doesn't do that because it didn't happen."Jurors deliberated about two hours at the end of the day without reaching a verdict on Friday.