Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Former Alaska Governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s much-anticipated defamation trial against the New York Times was set to begin in federal court, but was rescheduled at the last minute after she tested positive for Covid-19 a day before jury selection was slated to begin. Defamation and First Amendment attorneys and legal scholars around the country have been keenly following the litigation as it could test key First Amendment protections for media. The trial has been rescheduled for February 3.
After learning of Palin’s positive COVID-19 test, the judge presiding over the case prepared ready to move forward with the trial, with Palin’s consent, and offered to allow her to testify via videoconference. Palin’s lawyers objected, however, and argued that she wanted to be present for jury selection and to provide her testimony live during trial.
The former governor sued the Times in 2017 over an editorial that incorrectly linked the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona that left six people dead, including a federal judge, and gravely wounded others including Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords to a map showing certain electoral districts in crosshairs that was circulated by Palin’s political action committee. The Times later corrected the op-ed to remove any suggestion that Palin incited the shooting and apologized for the error. After Palin filed the case in federal court, the judge initially dismissed the case, but it was revived on appeal. Continue reading ›