IANAL, but what I gathered from the tweet was that a competent lawyer would have objected to many of the exhibits, preserving the option of appeal. So, for example, an attorney might have objected to the introduction of the video of the deposition where Trump boasted of his massive wealth.
“Objection, your Honor! These are off-the-cuff comments, not audited financial statements, clearly prejudicial to a jury assessing the size of a judgment relative to a defendant’s wealth.”
I’ve read in several places that how rich a defendant is must be a consideration for a jury determining what $ amount would actually stop this asshole from misbehaving. I would think a competent attorney would object to virtually anything showing Trump is a really rich dude, as self-evident as we might think that assertion.
And, again, IANAL, and I conjured that up in about ten seconds. Even if the judge overruled the objection, grounds for an appeal would have been preserved.
It would be hard to believe that their antics didn’t infuriate the jury as much as it infuriated the judge. Maybe part of the appeal will be some variant of “my lawyer and I were such arrogant asses that it prejudiced the jury against me”. But as previously noted, the principle of proportionality applies to punitive damages, which constitutes the bulk of the award, and Trump screwed himself by bragging about his wealth in the Trump Org fraud trial. It also doesn’t help that Trump made numerous defamatory tweets from his phone while actually sitting in the courtroom! He and his inept lawyer could not have been more effective at eliciting the highest possible punitive award if they’d actively been trying!
And on a lighter note, she’s also said that her two dogs will be eating well from now on, nothing but the best, paid for by the Orange Menace.
I think you are correct here, from my limited knowledge. If the judge overrules your objection, this could form the basis for a successful appeal and lowering of the amount of damages. But Habba did not even bother to make the objection, so nothing to appeal.
Well I have to agree with Trump. Kaplan vs Habba was never a fair fight.
And it really sounds like Carroll is now enjoying herself, and will be 100% on board with another suit if Trump can’t control himself. And why wouldn’t Kaplan be successful in arguing for doubling the penalty if $83 million wasn’t enough to make him to respect the court.
Here’s 14 examples of Habba having a bad day in court; all in one day. These are basic mistakes.
But if you stipulate the same client, I’m not sure any lawyer could have done much better. Trump by his conduct demonstrated to the jury his contempt for the entire judicial process.
Maybe if you convince the Donald that every time he opens his mouth, he increases the jury award by a million dollars. But i don’t know that even with that, he would have had enough self-control to keep quiet.
I don’t think she would have been able to do much better given Trump’s defamation and his behavior while in court. But Habba alone is responsible for embarrassing herself in front of God and everyone else.
That’s a really fascinating read, thank you. It’s a great illustration of Habba’s astounding incompetence, previously outlined in less detail by the Twitter excerpts from Brian Manookian above.
It’s just astonishing, like watching an elementary school student who’s watched a couple of episodes of Perry Mason walk into a real courtroom and pretend to be a real lawyer. I understand from the Orange One himself, however, that he hires “only the best”.
I also understand that he makes “perfect” phone calls, which don’t result in any criminal indictments at all.
Rachel maddow had both lawyers and e jean Carroll on her show tonight. One lawyer mentioned that habba was very different when trump wasn’t in the courtroom.
But as previously noted, the principle of proportionality applies to punitive damages, which constitutes the bulk of the award, and Trump screwed himself by bragging about his wealth in the Trump Org fraud trial. It also doesn’t help that Trump made numerous defamatory tweets from his phone while actually sitting in the courtroom! He and his inept lawyer could not have been more effective at eliciting the highest possible punitive award if they’d actively been trying!