Judge Wins Libel Suit Against Boston Herald

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Link, Boston Herald

Jury Finds Boston Herald Libeled Judge

Feb 18, 4:33 PM (ET)

By JAY LINDSAY

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Herald was ordered Friday to pay $2.1 million for libeling a Superior Court judge in articles that portrayed him as lenient toward defendants and quoted him making insensitive comments about a 14-year-old rape victim.

In a case closely watched by the media and legal communities, a jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over five days before finding that the newspaper and reporter David Wedge were guilty of libeling Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy.

Murphy claimed Wedge misquoted him as telling lawyers involved in the case about the teenage rape victim: "Tell her to get over it."