The New York Times has been found not liable in the Sarah Palin defamation case.
The unanimous verdict came on Tuesday after U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the case.
However, the jury was not informed about the judge’s order until after it delivered its verdict.
According to Rakoff, the order of dismissal of the complaint would only be issued after the jury returned its verdict and added that “the case would inevitably be appealed and the court of appeals would benefit from knowing how the jury would decide it, which is why they would continue to deliberate.”
“The defendants are not liable too. You decided the facts, I decided the law.” Rakoff told the jurors.
VERDICT IS IN: Judge reveals fate of Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against NY Timeshttps://t.co/HAoSKYvWjF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 15, 2022
Following the decision, Palin’s attorney Ken Turkel claimed that her team would work on evaluating all options, including a possible appeal. However Palin hasn’t responded yet.
Palin’s case against the New York Times was delayed last month after she tested positive for Covid-19.
Reports revealed that Palin’s case was the first libel suit against the Times that made it to trial in nearly two decades. However, the news agency stood firmly and noted that “it has not lost a libel case in at least 50 years.”
