A federal judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, maintained a $5 million jury verdict against former president Donald Trump, dismissing his argument that the judgment was excessive and that the jury cleared his name by not establishing in the civil case that he raped a columnist in an upscale department store changing room in the 1990s.
Kaplan stated that the jury’s decision in May to award compensatory and punitive damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for sexual abuse and defamation was justified.
Trump’s legal representatives had urged Kaplan to diminish the jury’s award to under $1 million or request a retrial on damages. They argued that the $2 million in compensatory damages awarded to Carroll for her sexual assault claim was overstated because the jury found that Trump had not raped Carroll in the Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman’s store in the spring of 1996.
Kaplan indicated that the jury’s unanimous verdict mainly favoured Carroll, barring the fact that the jury agreed she could not prove Trump had raped her “as per the strict, specific interpretation of a certain section of the New York Penal Law.”
The judge clarified that the section necessitates vaginal penetration by a penis. In contrast, forcible penetration without consent by fingers or any other object is categorized as “sexual abuse” rather than “rape.”
Kaplan stated that the legal definition of rape is “considerably more restrictive” than the general contemporary understanding, specific dictionary definitions, and the definitions present in some federal and state criminal statutes.
The judge expressed that the verdict does not imply Carroll “failed to demonstrate that Mr. Trump had ‘raped’ her in the sense most people understand the term ‘rape.'” He added, “…the jury concluded that Mr. Trump did do precisely that.”
The judge agreed with Trump’s lawyer’s argument that the $2 million compensation for sexual abuse would have been inflated if the jury had based the reward on a conclusion that Trump had groped Carroll’s breasts through her clothing or engaged in similar behaviour. However, the judge explained, that’s not what the jury determined.
Kaplan wrote, “No evidence of such behaviour was presented. Instead, the proof convincingly showed, and the jury indirectly found, that Mr. Trump intentionally and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carroll’s vagina with his fingers, causing immediate pain and prolonged emotional and psychological damage.”
Kaplan dismissed Trump’s argument, stating it “overlooks the majority of the trial evidence, misconstrues the jury’s verdict, and incorrectly concentrates on the New York Penal Law definition of ‘rape,’ disregarding the term’s common usage and the evidence of what transpired between Ms. Carroll and Mr. Trump.”
Trump’s lawyers, leading his 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign, did not immediately respond to the judge’s decision.
Robbie Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney (unrelated to the judge), said, “Now that the court has refused Trump’s plea for a retrial or a reduction in the verdict amount, E. Jean Carroll eagerly anticipates receiving the $5 million in damages that the jury granted her.”
The attorney also shared that her client is preparing for a second defamation trial against Trump scheduled for January, based on statements Trump made during and post his presidency.
Despite the verdict in early May following a two-week trial, Trump maintains that he never met Carroll at the department store and was not acquainted with her before her 2019 memoir in which she alleged that he raped her.
At the trial, Carroll testified for three days that Trump sexually assaulted her in a deserted dressing room in the midtown Manhattan store after a casual encounter and playful banter at the store’s entrance while shopping for a friend of Trump’s.
Trump, aged 77, did not attend the trial and posted on social media last week that his lawyers, out of respect for the Presidency and the implausibility of the case, advised against his testimony or attendance at the trial.
Post-trial, Carroll, 79, added new claims to a pending defamation lawsuit and sought an additional $10 million in compensatory damages and a significant sum in unspecified punitive damages.
Trump has filed a countersuit against Carroll, claiming he was defamed when she continued to insist post-verdict that she had been raped.
As this legal saga continues, all eyes are on the future actions of both parties. With the court’s ruling, Carroll is one step closer to receiving her awarded damages. Meanwhile, Trump’s team needs to recalibrate their strategies for the upcoming defamation lawsuit and countersuit. This high-profile case continues to captivate public attention, rekindling discussions about sexual assault, power dynamics, and accountability among public figures.
