The jury’s decision conformed with that of U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who said on Monday — while the jury was still deliberating and unaware of his comments — that the former Alaska governor had not demonstrated that the Times acted with “actual malice,” the high legal standard that public figures must demonstrate to claim libel.
Rakoff let the jury make their own decision, though, because he wanted future courts to have both his ruling and the jury’s to consider if the case goes to appeal — a process that could alter long-standing protections granted to journalists writing about prominent people….