The former Elle magazine columnist had claimed that the former president raped her in a department store dressing room. [I had blogged about it – my post “Donald Trump Allegedly Assaulted a Woman in 1996” published April 28, 2023].
While not finding Trump guilty of rape, the jury of six men and three women in the civil case did find him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The jury awarded $2 million to Carroll for battery, and $3 million for defamation.
The nine jurors deliberated for just over 2-and-a-half hours. That’s just over an hour longer than instructions the jury received from US District Judge Lewis Kaplan earlier this week.
[Note: The standard of proof in civil cases is lower than in criminal cases, meaning that jurors were only required to find that it was more likely than not that Trump assaulted Carroll].
Trump – who denied the accusations – did not attend the two-week civil trial in the Manhattan federal court.
Carroll was able to bring the civil case against Trump after New York passed the Adult Survivors Act in 2022. The one-year period for victims to file sexual assault lawsuits in the state involving claims that would have normally exceeded statute limitations.
In any case, it is a stunning outcome. And broadcast networks gleefully broke into regular programming to cover the verdict.
Trump's attorney Joe Tacopina told reporters on the same day that the former president plans to appeal.
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