Sarah Palin's NYT suit could bring changes to defamation law - WKRC TV Cincinnati
WASHINGTON (TND) — Former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is suing The New York Times for defamation in response to an editorial the publication ran which incorrectly claimed there was a connection between advertisements run by her political action committee and a 2011 shooting.
“Palin sued The New York Times in 2017 after it published an editorial that erroneously asserted a link between her political rhetoric and a mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011 that left six people dead and gravely wounded Gabrielle Giffords, then a Democratic member of Congress,” said The New York Times in recent coverage of the suit. “The Times later corrected the editorial.”
Chicago attorney Karen Conti said the case pits “two interests of two high profile entities” against each other.
“When you're dealing with a public figure like Sarah Palin, she may want to take this opportunity to make a point that The New York Times doesn't know what it's talking about, and it's the liberal press and they're after her,” said Conti to The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat. “I think also The New York Times wants to make the point that it has a little bit of leeway when it comes to the facts, and it can exaggerate a little bit — especially in an opinion piece.”
In order to prove defamation, Conti said “you have to prove that there was a false statement of fact, not an opinion about a person that damages the reputation.”
“Our law in this country when it comes to a public figure, and that's a senator or a governor of a state, the standard is higher to sue,” said Conti. “You have to prove as a plaintiff in a defamation case, that the person said it knowing it was false or recklessly disregarding the truth.”
Even in the case of an editorial, Conti said “facts in the opinion piece still have to be true.”
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz spoke with The National Desk earlier this week regarding malice in a defamation case.
“I think we're going to see some changes in the law, particularly involving malice. What does malice mean? And when is the mistake an honest mistake? And when is the mistake a malicious mistake?“ said Dershowitz. “That issue is going to be front and center.”
Conti said Palin’s aim in the case is to “get the law changed to make it easier for public officials to bring these lawsuits.”
“Our government is based upon an open and honest dialogue about our presidents,” said Conti. “What we do is we encourage people to criticize our president and our public officials. Why? Because it's good for our country, and it allows us to be a better nation.”
source: https://local12.com/news/nation-world/sarah-palins-nyt-suit-could-bring-changes-to-defamation-law
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