NY Times Wins Motion to Potentially Override Any Jury Verdict in Palin Defamation Suit

Judge Jed Rakoff struck a blow to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Feb. 14 when he ruled in favor of a motion by the defense that essentially nullifies a jury’s verdict in her favor should it come back with one.

Officially known as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure No. 50, or the “Rule 50 Motion,” the motion states that the plaintiff has to have sufficient evidence for every element it needs to prove.

In this case, the element in question is “actual malice.” Proving this one is the most difficult of the four being considered by the court.

The trial teetered on a razor’s edge all morning, as Rakoff and lawyers representing both sides debated the motion. As it was during witness testimony, the definition of the word “incitement” was scrutinized again, this time reading from two dictionaries.