Jury Likely Decided to Trump Fate in E. Jean Carroll Rape Case Wednesday

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During the first day of testimony in the trial Wednesday, E. Jean Carroll took the witness stand and gave unvarnished testimony that she was raped by Donald Trump in the 1990s. She testified: I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote this, he said it didn’t happen.

She testified that she and Trump were together in the lingerie department on the sixth floor of Bergdorf Goodman, flirting. When they got there, Trump followed her into the dressing room and pushed her against the wall, hitting her head and disorienting her. He also pulled down her pantyhose, inserted his fingers inside her penis causing her great pain and inserted his penis inside her, for some time, while she struggled with him.

This testimony is the key to the case. If the jury were to believe this, they would find Trump liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll, and likely award her substantial damages. If the jury doesn’t believe it, they will return a verdict in favor of the former president.

Based on more than 25 years of experience as a trial attorney, including serving as an Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting sex crimes, I believe it is highly likely that the jury will have already made up its mind as to whether Carroll is saying true before he did it. his direct testimony ended before Donald Trump’s lawyers had a chance to cross-examine him.

This case wont be a he said, she said case because Trump is unlikely to testify.

In fact, Trump has not attended the trial so far. During opening statements, his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, appeared to indicate that the trend would continue, saying that Trumps testimony would only take place in excerpts of the deposition. Trumps witness list consists of only two people, Donald Trump and Dr. Edgar Nace, a psychiatric expert witness.

E. Jean Carroll appeared in Manhattan Federal Court in New York on Wednesday after testifying in her civil rape case against former President Donald Trump.

Reuters//Eduardo Munoz

Trump also did not present any exhibits, other than excerpts from depositions. If he does not testify, the only way he can obtain the facts as evidence is through the cross-examination of Ms.’s witnesses. Carrolls.

Ms. Carroll, on the other hand, will present several corroborating witnesses:

Lisa Birnbaum: The best-selling author will testify that Carroll told her immediately after the incident what Trump did to her. She will also testify that she told Carroll that she was raped.Carol Martin: The first African-American local news anchor in New York City (in over two decades) will also testify that Carroll told her immediately about Trump’s rape. Martin will testify that he told Carroll not to pursue the case, because he had “200 lawyers and would destroy him. Jessica Leeds: Another of Trumps alleged victims, she will testify that she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump when she sat next to him. on a flight in the 1970s, when he tried to put his fingers inside her penis. Natasha Stoynoff: Then a reporter for People magazine, she would testify that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her when she was at Mar-A-Lago in the early 2000s, making a story.

Carroll is also set to show the infamous Access Hollywood video, in which Donald Trump bragged that he could take women by the vagina without consent, because he was a star.

Perhaps more importantly, Carroll has already addressed most of the points Trump’s lawyers wanted to make on cross-examination.

Former President Donald Trumps lawyer Joe Tacopina made opening statements during a civil trial in which E. Jean Carroll accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

Reuters/Jane Rosenberg

When I was trained as an AUSA, I was taught to use BOBS (Bring Out the Bad Stuff) to blunt the effectiveness of cross-examination of my witnesses. A skilled trial attorney will raise every point they hope the defense will make on cross-examination (1), to gain credibility with the jury and give the witness a chance to explain before facing closed-end (yes or no) questions. from opposing counsel.

Carrolls attorney made good use of BOBS during his testimony today. He explained that:

She was dating Donald Trump before the sexual assault. The door to the dressing room was open as he was attacked, but he was trapped by Trump, who weighed at least 100 pounds more than him. She didn’t scream during the attack saying Wednesday, I am a fighter, not a screamer. She didn’t write down anything about the attack in her diary. He added that he never put negative things in his diary. He did not file a police report (saying that he was convinced by Carol Martin that Trump would destroy him if he did). He could not remember the exact date, week, month, or year of the attack (although he said it probably occurred in late 1995 or early 1996). He is a registered Democrat. His book describing the attack sold almost nothing.

These were most of the points Tacopina made in his opening argument. While I imagine he will return to these points during his cross-examination, jurors may consider these points old news.

Another snafu for the Trump team occurred as the trial began this morning, when Donald Trump posted two messages on his social media platform, Truth Social, about the case. Both messages were used Trumps favorite phrasewitch huntto describe the proceedings. He accused Carrolls lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, of being a political operative, funded by a major political donor. In one message, he wrote, Does anyone believe that I would pick up an almost 60-year-old woman (2) I don’t know from the door of a crowded department store and have sex with her. He also attacked the Court for rejecting his 11th hour attempt to introduce DNA evidence which he had previously refused to provide to the Plaintiff.

When plaintiffs’ counsel brought these social media posts to the attention of Judge Lewis Kaplan, the judge made it clear to Trump’s lawyers that he was not amused.

E. Jean Carroll leaves the Manhattan federal courthouse in New York City.

Reuters/Brendan McDermid

He also said Trump is creating additional potential liability for himself. He noted that he specifically prohibited the parties from raising with the jury the issue of third-party funding for the Carrolls’ attorneys. He also said that Trump seems to be trying to influence his supporters, or the jury (or both) with his posts.

When Judge Kaplan was informed that Eric Trump had made additional social media posts about the trial, he warned that there are laws against such actions (apparently describing 18 USC Section 1504, which makes it a crime to create a letter designed to influence a jury. in a pending trial).

Trump’s lawyer said he would take action to prevent a repeat of these social media posts (3). Judge Kaplan, in a comment that seemed to indicate that he doubted whether Mr. Tacopina would be successful in stopping his client, made it clear that continued statements could have dire consequences for Donald and/or Eric Trump.

But despite all the chaos, when the jurors left the courtroom today, each of them probably had a strong conviction as to whether the testimony they heard from E. Jean Carroll was the truth or a lie. If they believe he told the truth, I doubt anything will come out of the rest of the trial that will cause them to change their minds. If they believe he lied (in graphic detail), I also doubt that anything at trial will cause them to change their minds.

which one is it Only time will tell.

1: One of the best examples of BOBS is in the movie 8 Mile, where Eminem wins the final rap battle by uttering all the nasty truths he thinks his opponent (Clarence) will use. After that, Clarence couldn’t say anything and just gave up.

2: Carroll was, in fact, 52 years old at the time of the alleged rape.

3: Tacopina also cried about press accounts that Carroll had two trials before mock juries and each time the verdict came out in his favor.

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