Judge says jurors in Palin case knew he'd decided to toss her lawsuit before they reached a verdict

The judge presiding over the libel lawsuit brought by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin against The New York Times said Wednesday that jurors knew before delivering their verdict that he'd already decided to rule against Palin — but said they told a law clerk it didn't affect the outcome.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said in a written order that several jurors told a law clerk after deciding against Palin on Tuesday that they had received news flashes on their phones about Rakoff's Monday announcement that he'd toss out the lawsuit regardless of the verdict.

"The jurors repeatedly assured the Court's law clerk that these notifications had not affected them in any way or played any role whatever in their deliberations," Rakoff wrote.