US Court Denies Trump's Motion for New Trail Against E. Jean Carroll
US judge Lewis Kaplan denied the motion filed by former President Donald Trump for a new trial against reporter and author E. Jean Carroll, a court document revealed on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2023) US judge Lewis Kaplan denied the motion filed by former President Donald Trump for a new trial against reporter and author E. Jean Carroll, a court document revealed on Wednesday.
"The jury in this case did not reach 'a seriously erroneous result.' Its verdict is not 'a miscarriage of justice.' Mr. Trump's motion for a new trial on damages or a remittitur (Dkt 204) is denied," Kaplan said in a memorandum.
In late June, Trump filed a lawsuit against Carroll accusing her of defamation after a court found him several weeks earlier liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
Kaplan said the jury in the case found no evidence of wrongful behavior by Carroll, while determining that Trump caused her immediate pain and long-lasting emotional and psychological harm.
"Mr. Trump's argument therefore ignores the bulk of the evidence at trial, misinterprets the jury's verdict, and mistakenly focuses on the New York Penal Law definition of 'rape' to the exclusion of the meaning of that word as it often is used in everyday life and of the evidence of what actually occurred between Ms.
Carroll and Mr. Trump. There is no basis for disturbing the jury's sexual assault damages," Kaplan said.
The judge also said he considered Trump's other arguments and found them all to be "unpersuasive."
In 2019, Carroll accused Trump of trying to rape her in either 1995 or 1996 in a dressing room in New York City. Trump rejected the allegations as false and said he never met Carroll. Later in the year, the author filed another lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of damaging her reputation and career after he called her a liar.
In May, a jury found it more likely than not that Trump is liable for battery based on Carroll's accusations of sexual abuse and ordered him to pay $2 million in damages. The jury also found Trump liable for defamation, ordering him to pay $3 million in damages for publicly rejecting the accusations. At the same time, the jury ruled that Carroll was not raped but was rather "sexually abused."