Overview
- An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Friday vacated the 2022 jury verdict and ordered judgment for Senate Majority PAC.
- The judges found Moore did not present clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, which requires proof the ad was published knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth.
- The dispute focused on a 2017 TV spot that said Moore was banned from the Gadsden Mall for soliciting sex from young girls and referenced a 14-year-old working as a Santa’s helper.
- The court described any misleading phrasing in the ad as a negligent error, which is not enough to establish actual malice for a public-figure claim.
- Moore’s lawyer said they may ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, while Senate Majority PAC’s attorney called the decision a total vindication of the group’s ad citing prior news reports.