(UnitedVoice.com) – Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin (R) sued the New York Times for an op-ed falsely tying her to a 2011 Arizona mass shooting that killed six and injured former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords. The Republican accused the newspaper of libel. On February 14, the presiding federal judge, who former President Bill Clinton put on the bench, did something so egregious he’s now being accused of sabotaging the case.
While the jury was debating on whether to find in favor of Palin on Valentine’s Day, US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff announced he didn’t believe Palin’s legal team proved a key element in the case. He said she failed to prove the Times and its employees acted with “actual malice” when publishing the article in 2017. He had decided to dismiss the suit. A day later, the jury came back and found in the Times’ favor.
On Wednesday, Rakoff wrote a two-page order revealing three of the jurors got push notifications on their phones about his decision on Monday night before their deliberations were complete. The jurors told a court clerk what happened, but claimed the judge’s announcement didn’t impact their decision. Not everyone was buying that.
Palin’s defamation case goes to jury.
Jury is taking a while in deliberations, which is shocking because the case is in NYC and it’s against the NYT.
Judge says eff it the NYT wins.
Tells jury to keep deliberating.
Then this happens
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 16, 2022
Rakoff spoke to Bloomberg News about his decision and what the jurors knew. Politico called it “unusual” for a federal judge to speak to a news outlet so soon after a verdict, especially when there will likely be an appeal. Palin’s attorneys have said they are exploring all of their options.
Do you believe the judge sabotaged the case?
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