Supreme Court Declines to Hear Dershowitz Defamation Appeal Against CNN

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a defamation lawsuit filed by Alan Dershowitz against CNN, leaving intact a lower-court decision that the network did not act with actual malice. Dershowitz, who served on President Trump's legal team during the 2020 Senate impeachment trial, alleged that CNN omitted a key portion of his remarks and misled viewers about his constitutional arguments.

A federal district court in Florida ruled for CNN in 2023, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed that decision last year.

The case stems from commentary CNN aired after Dershowitz spoke on the Senate floor about impeachment standards. CNN published an online piece criticizing his argument, and other network commentators also condemned the statements. Dershowitz appeared twice on the network to defend his position, and CNN broadcast his remarks in full.

He later filed a $300 million lawsuit alleging the network engaged in a deliberate scheme to defraud its audience.

The district court found that Dershowitz could not show CNN acted with actual malice, the standard established in the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan decision. The 11th Circuit noted that CNN presented unrefuted evidence its commentators believed their statements were fair and accurate.

Dershowitz argued in his Supreme Court filing that the actual-malice rule has left the media nearly untouchable and denied public figures any remedy for misrepresentations. They described the actual-malice standard as a cornerstone of modern constitutional law whose reversal would cause lasting damage.

Two justices dissented from the decision not to hear the case, but the court as a whole showed no broader interest in revisiting the precedent.