Judge Wins Defamation Suit Against Boston Herald, Reporter

Judge Ernest B. Murphy has won his libel suit against the Boston Herald and its reporter David Wedge. A jury decided this week that Wedge had misquoted him, leading to threats against the judge and members of his family. It awarded the judge $2.1 million. On the stand, the reporter claimed that he had tried to reach the judge to verify the accuracy of his stories, but had been unable to do so. Wedge’s stories began running in the Boston Herald in 2002. The Herald has not indicated whether it plans to appeal. See coverage of the trial on the First Amendment Center’s website here, here, here, here, and here.