READ: Full Recap of The Blockbuster Dominion v. Fox News Defamation Trial
Artist sketch of Judge Eric Davis of Delaware Superior Court on the bench Monday, April 17, 2023, in Wilmington. Elizabeth Williams via AP.
WILMINGTON — The first day of Dominion Voting Systems’s blockbuster $1.6 billion defamation trial against Fox News kicked off on Tuesday in a packed courtroom in Wilmington, Delaware.
After a one-day delay that the judge in the case described as routine, dozens of reporters and two high-wattage legal teams filed into the courtroom around 8:30 a.m. for the start of a six-week event dubbed the media trial of the century. Dominion is suing Fox News for defamation, alleging the cable news network spread lies about the voting company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
A few notable reporters were present in the courtroom on day one, including the author Michael Wolff, who sported an “Amagansett” baseball hat and is rumored to be writing a book about Fox, and a mask-wearing Howard Kurtz, the Fox media analyst who has been offering some limited coverage of the case for the network. Wolff took extensive notes on his laptop, which were suspiciously broken up into the kind of paragraphs you would see in a book. Kurtz looked glum.
Members of the media gather outside the justice center in Wilmington, Monday, April 17. AP Photo/Matt Rourke.
The trial got off to a bumpy start for Fox News, the cable news giant that has already been battered in pretrial hearings by the judge in this case. One Fox News communications executive was escorted out of the courtroom for taking a photo — a strict violation of the court’s rules against recording.
A source told Mediaite the Fox exec misunderstood the rules and hastily deleted the photo after taking it.
Our judge — The Honorable Eric Davis, tanned, rested and witty — addressed the incident to the assembled lawyers and press. Noting that he was told someone was recording in the courtroom, Davis warned the court: “There are certain rules in this courtroom, my rules.”
“The protocol order will be strictly enforced. If you violate the protocol order, you will be escorted out,” he continued, before suggesting he favored a more draconian penalty for such rule violations: “I think you should be something else but…”
That drama gave way to the tedious process of jury selection, in which several jurors were struck and replaced by others. (This was when the rules against coffee in the courtroom, no doubt strictly enforced, started to weigh on me. If anyone has recommendations for caffeine pills or something stronger I am in the market).
When the 12 jurors were selected, Judge Davis informed them that they could bring water into the jury box, so long as it’s capped — “and non-alcoholic.” The jury laughed at the crack from our deadpan judge. The assembled reporters laughed a little harder.
At the end of the painstaking jury selection process, in which 12 jurors and 12 alternates were sworn in, one alternate interrupted the judge. “I can’t do this. I’ve been up all night and I can’t do this,” he said, rubbing his eyes. The judge requested a sidebar to talk to the distressed juror. Judge Davis excused him, and he was replaced by a woman who had the awkward honor of being sworn in alone.
Judge Davis gave instructions to the jury to not speak with anyone about the case or research it online, before sending us to a brief recess. Opening arguments will be up next.
Check back here — and only here — for live updates on the Super Bowl of media trials:
UPDATE 12:40 p.m. ET — Judge Davis has called a lunch recess. The trial will resume at 1:30 p.m. with Dominion’s opening statement, followed by Fox News.
The judge revealed that the exiled Fox executive “turned on everybody else” when they were booted from the courtroom, accusing them of “actively tweeting” the proceedings — another violation of the court’s rules. Judge Davis said the executive’s claim will be looked into and reiterated his warning to reporters in the courtroom to stay off Twitter during the proceedings, or face expulsion.
I will be spending the recess gorging myself on fried chicken from Q’s Kitchen on N King Street one block from the courthouse. It’s excellent. Back at 1:30 p.m.
UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: Reporting to you live from the courthouse where I am waiting with other reporters in silence for opening arguments that were supposed to start 30 minutes ago. I have thankfully secured a coffee, but big thanks to the reader who suggested a non-liquid alternative: Punch’d Energy gummies, which I intend on purchasing this evening provided they are in stock at the local CVS.
Meanwhile, a bit of news in this case during the recess: Judge Davis has officially authorized a special master to investigate whether Fox News complied with their discovery obligations. The judge already sanctioned Fox for withholding evidence.
UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: Five minute warning here folks…
UPDATE 2:34 p.m.: We were misled. You could say our conception of time was defamed. Opening statements remain delayed.
Lawyers for both parties are seated in the courtroom. It appears we are waiting for the judge here.
UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: We remain delayed without explanation. Some speculation from reporters here about settlement talks, but no one knows anything. We are headless chickens (with iPhones).
UPDATE 3:28 p.m.: It’s official: we have reached a state of press panic in the courtroom. Multiple reporters, I am told, have started pre-writing stories about a settlement. To my fellow observers in the courtroom: you can spot the pre-writers by looking for the reporters currently typing frantically. They are the people who are going to beat you to this story. The time to panic is now.
UPDATE 3:57 p.m.: The judge is back in the courtroom…standby for news
UPDATE 3:59 p.m.: The Fox News-Dominion case is over, settling for a whopping $787.5 million on the first day of trial. Dominion’s lawyers celebrated the settlement as a victory for truth. Read more here.
“The parties have resolved their case.”
Judge Davis thanks the jury. The Fox News-Dominion $1.6 billion defamation case is over.https://t.co/5BfpFrpJQO
— Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) April 18, 2023
