Supreme Court turns away Alan Dershowitz's defamation case against CNN

Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz's case alleging CNN defamed him with its coverage of remarks made during President Trump's 2020 impeachment trial. The dispute presented the high court with the chance to revisit its landmark 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, which set a high bar for public figures to win defamation lawsuits against media companies. That case requires a public official claiming defamation to prove the defendant knew their statement was false at the time or demonstrated reckless disregard of its falsity, a standard known as actual malice. Two of the justices, Justice Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have criticized that decades-old decision, but no other member of the high court has shown an appetite to reconsider it. Thomas and Gorsuch dissented from the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case. In rejecting Dershowitz's appeal, the Supreme Court left untouched a lower court decision in favor of CNN. Dershowitz's lawsuit In this March 6, 2019, file photo, attorney Alan Dershowitz leaves Manhattan Federal Court in New York. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File Dershowitz's suit against CNN dates back to Mr. Trump's first impeachment trial , which involved claims Mr. Trump abused his power and obstructed a congressional investigation. …