New York Times Wins Retrial Against Sarah Palin in Defamation Case

A federal jury ruled in favor of the New York Times in a defamation retrial filed by Sarah Palin. The case stems from a 2017 editorial linking Palin to a 2011 mass shooting. The retrial followed a federal appeals court's decision to overturn an earlier verdict supporting the Times.

A federal jury in Manhattan has absolved the New York Times of defaming former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial concerning gun control. Palin, who had been a Republican vice presidential candidate, faced a second defeat in this retrial.

This legal battle re-emerged after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a 2022 decision in favor of the Times, citing procedural missteps. Palin sued both the newspaper and its ex-editorial page editor, James Bennet, claiming the piece falsely attributed a mass shooting to her political action group.

Bennet admitted to an error under deadline pressure, which the Times promptly corrected. Despite Palin's assertions that the mistakes were life-altering for her, the jury agreed that Palin couldn't demonstrate 'actual malice,' a tall order for public figures in defamation cases.