Jurors considering whether the New York Times defamed former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were alerted when the judge overseeing the case announced his plans to override their decision if they opted to side with Palin, the judge revealed on Feb. 16. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, a Clinton nominee, announced Feb. 14 that Palin failed to prove her case and that he would intervene if the jury sided with her. Jurors weren’t in the room at the time the judge said he wanted them to reach a verdict, so an appeals court weighing the matter—if Palin appeals—would have the benefit of knowing the decisions were made independently. The problem is, several jurors alerted the court’s law clerk that they found out about Rakoff’s action before the verdict was rendered. “These jurors reported that although they had been assiduously adhering to the court’s instruction to avoid media coverage of the trial, …