Haynes Boone Partner Laura Prather, head of the firm’s Media Law Practice Group, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against The New York Times.
The New York Times winning its defamation fight with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin isn’t necessarily unexpected. But, when you throw in a federal judge indicating he’d dismiss the case while the jury was still deliberating, modern technology that made several of the jurors aware of that decision before they reached a verdict and recent criticism of the actual malice standard, it’s not exactly business as usual, either. …
While she also was surprised by the timing of Rakoff’s decision, head of Haynes Boone’s media law group Laura Prather sees the logic behind it. “Although Judge Rakoff’s decision while the jury is still deliberating might appear odd, it is consistent with the active case management he has demonstrated throughout this litigation,” she says. “By allowing the jury to continue to deliberate, the Second Circuit will have the benefit of both the Court and the jurors’ decisions on appeal.” …
Adds Prather, “The jury’s verdict demonstrates that both the facts and law were aligned in protecting the breathing space necessary for media organizations to report on matters of public concern in a manner where they won’t fear retaliation for making honest mistakes that they remedy swiftly.”
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