Appeals Court Upholds Verdict and Award in E. Jean Carroll Case
Donald Trump got some bad legal news to end the year.
His appeal of the E. Jean Carroll defamation ruling failed, with the court upholding the lower court ruling.
Trump is now expected to ask the Supreme Court to consider an appeal.
Ruling Upheld
Donald Trump was ordered to pay $5 million in the defamation case.
Trump was also ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages for his attacks against Carroll after the case had been concluded.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “On review for abuse of discretion, we conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings.”
The ruling continued, “Mr. Trump’s statements in the tape, together with the testimony of Ms. Leeds and Ms. Stoynoff, establish a repeated, idiosyncratic pattern of conduct consistent with what Ms. Carroll alleged.”
After the ruling, Robbie Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, stated, “Both E. Jean Carroll and I are gratified by today’s decision. We thank the Second Circuit for its careful consideration of the parties’ arguments.”
Trump’s team was not quite as happy, with spokesperson Steven Cheung responding, “The American People have re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoax, which will continue to be appealed.”
I hate to break it to Cheung, but Trump being elected president will have zero impact with the courts in terms of overturning this verdict.
I would be highly surprised if the Supreme Court accepted the case with both the lower court and appeals court rulings that were made.
I am not denying who was behind the case, but that is not exactly abnormal, as GOP operatives have done the same thing to Democrats in the past… that is just how this game was played.
I just want to temper everyone’s expectations on this and try to quell some of the venom that will be directed to the Supreme Court if it does, in fact, refuse the appeal.
Having watched how this court operatives, there is nothing that took place in the courtrooms that would suggest this ruling needs to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, so I fully expect the court to decline the case.
I would also add that Justice Sotomayor is currently responsible for the 2nd Circuit, and she will not have a friendly shoulder for Trump to cry on over this.
