Court case between scientist Michael Mann and journalist Mark Steyn underscored by debate on scientific skepticism

In a decision last week that should shock all who believe in free speech and open science debate, a Washington Superior Court jury found journalist Mark Steyn and another writer guilty of defaming Michael Mann, the Penn State climate scientist behind the “Hockey Stick graph,” possibly the greatest global warming marketing tool since Al Gore’s polar bears. For having allegedly published “false facts” with “knowledge” of their falsity, Steyn was fined US$1 million.

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The 12-year-old case, with Mann’s millions in legal fees funded by unidentified sources, has attracted scant attention outside the confines of narrow climate science battle zones. What was revealed during the Mann-Steyn confrontation, however, is the underlying desperation of global warming fearmongers who have portrayed Steyn’s loss as a victory for what they claim is unquestionably sound climate science.

Few media covered the Mann-Steyn trial — previewed on this page in early February — or the decision beyond blithering about how the jury verdict offered support for Mann’s hockey stick science and the inviolate truth that fossil fuels are pushing the planet toward imminent catastrophe. Mann’s post-verdict statement was enough for mainstream media journalists: “I hope........

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