The attorneys for former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin have informed a federal judge they plan to ask for a new trial following her unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against the New York Times earlier this month.
Palin’s legal team told Judge Jed Rakoff they plan to make a motion requesting to interview jurors and hold a new trial after he dismissed the case earlier this month amid jurist deliberations. The jury ultimately rejected her defamation allegations against the Times, though Palin’s counsel also seeks to disqualify Rakoff from future proceedings.
During jury deliberations at her trial, Rakoff made a rare decision to toss out the trial on the belief Palin’s attorneys had not provided a “legally sufficient evidentiary basis” for a case against the Times while the jury was sequestered.
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Following the jury’s unanimous verdict, Rakoff wrote in court filings that several jurors who ruled against Palin discovered the judge’s decision during deliberations from push notifications on their smartphone devices.
“The jurors repeatedly assured the Court’s law clerk that these notifications had not affected them in any way or played any role … in their deliberations,” Rakoff wrote in the filing. “Nevertheless, in an excess of caution, the Court hereby brings the foregoing facts to the parties’ attention … If any party feels there is any relief they seek based on the above, counsel should promptly initiate a joint phone conference with the Court to discuss whether any further proceedings are appropriate.”
Rakoff said he would review the motions once Palin’s team files to the court. Should Palin appeal, which she is expected to do, the judge said he would expedite writing his decision that outlines why he agreed to dismiss the case, saying it will be ready by March 1, according to the Times.
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Following Rakoff’s filings, the Times said it is “confident that the judge and jury decided the case fairly and correctly,” according to a statement provided to the Wall Street Journal.
The former Alaska governor’s team had sought to hold the publication liable for publishing an editorial in 2017 that erroneously linked Palin to a mass shooting that left a former Arizona representative grievously wounded.
The Washington Examiner contacted Palin’s legal counsel but did not receive a response.
