The judge who dismissed Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against The New York Times while the jury was deliberating not only "made a mistake," but he made the verdict "moot" on appeal, according to legal expert Alan Dershowitz on
"I was very surprised," Dershowitz told Saturday's "
," referring to U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who overlooked cell phone push notifications alerting jurors of a dismissed case while they were in deliberations. "I know Judge Rakoff. He's a terrific judge, but he made a mistake here, and the Court of Appeals will discount the jury verdict.
"The court of appeals will take this case on the assumption that the judge called the jurors all in and said, 'oh, by the way, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, while you're deliberating, I want you to know I've dismissed this case and so what you're doing is all moot.'