In the interest of not having a “do-over” of the previous E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set out a list of items that former President Donald Trump and/or his legal team may not say in front of the jury.
The list — lettered a-through-e — notably forbids Trump’s side from saying that he “did not sexually abuse” Carroll or asserting that Carroll “fabricated her account.”
The judge cited the “collateral estoppel decision determining that Mr. Trump, with actual malice, lied about sexually assauting Ms. Carroll.”
[Note: collateral estoppel is “the binding effect of a judgment as to matters actually litigated and determined in one action on later controversies between the parties involving a different claim from that on which the original judgment was based.” ]
Here's the list of what he can't offer as evidence, argument, or comments in the jury's presence. And while it's not everything Carroll's side wanted, it might finally convince Trump that his testifying would be a bad idea. 3/ pic.twitter.com/XLayfVCVdA
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) January 9, 2024
Trump and his counsel are also precluded from offering “evidence, argument, or comments” regarding a) plaintiff’s choice of counsel b) litigation funding c) DNA d) Carroll’s past romatic relationships and sexual experiences.
The DNA issue is covered because Carroll’s attorneys sought Trump’s DNA for years with a proclaimed intent to match it to DNA found on a dress Carroll allegedly wore on the night of the incident. When Trump, “four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence,” at last offered the DNA (in exchange for the DNA report on the dress), the judge rejected it, saying:
“[Trump’s] conditional invitation to open a door that he kept closed for years threatens to change the nature of a trial for which both parties now have been preparing for years. Whether Mr Trump’s application is intended for a dilatory purpose or not, the potential prejudice to Ms Carroll is apparent.”
The new trial is set for January 16 in New York City, after a Trump request to delay it was rejected last week.
