American jurisprudence is the envy of the Free World, but a federal jury's decision this week to throw out a libel suit brought against the New York Times raises serious questions about reckless press behavior. The newspaper, in reporting the case's dismissal as an independent observer, proudly boasted: "The Times has not lost a libel case in an American courtroom in at least 50 years."
We will refrain from making legal arguments about the judge's "directed verdict" when he dismissed the case a day before the jury had completed deliberations. But, as journalists ourselves, we watched the case unfold with considerable interest and came away worried.
