Sarah Palin v. New York Times

New York City, New York, personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on a defamation theory.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin sued the New York Times on a libel theory.

The New York Times claimed "truth" in defense.
On June 14, 2017, the Times’ Editorial Board published the editorial challenged in this case, entitled “America’s Lethal Politics” (“the editorial”), which compared two political shootings. Suppl. App’x 440 (PX-4).1 In the first attack, on January 8, 2011, Jared Loughner killed six people and injured thirteen others, including Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, during a constituent event held by Giffords in Arizona (“the Loughner shooting”).2 In the second, which took place in 2017 in Virginia on the day the editorial was published, James Hodgkinson seriously injured four people, including Republican Congressman Stephen Scalise, at a practice for a congressional baseball game (“the Hodgkinson shooting”). In comparing these two tragedies, the editorial made statements about the Loughner shooting that are the subject of this defamation action. It stated that there was a “clear” and “direct” “link” between the Loughner shooting and the “political incitement” that arose from a digital graphic published in March 2010 by former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s political action committee (“the challenged statements”3). Id. The 1 “ PX” refers to plaintiff’s exhibits received into evidence at trial; “DX” refers to defendants’ exhibits received into evidence at trial; “App’x” refers to the Joint Appendix; “Sp. App’x” refers to the Special Appendix; and “Suppl. App’x” refers to defendants’ Supplemental Appendix. 2 Among those killed was Judge John M. Roll, who attended the event in his capacity as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.3 In full, the paragraphs of the editorial containing the challenged statements read:“Was [the Hodgkinson shooting] evidence of how vicious American politics has become? Probably. In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner openedfire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palin’s political graphic was a map that superimposed crosshairs over twenty congressional districts represented by Democrats—including Giffords’ district. Id.at 459 (DX-61). In fact, a relationship between the crosshairs map and the Loughner shooting was never established; rather, at the time of the editorial, the attack was widely viewed as a tragic result of Loughner’s serious mental illness.

Defendant's verdict.

The Plaintiff's motion for a new trial was denied.