Donald Trump has poisoned the jury against him with his petulant, arrogant and “disrespectful” behavior in court, two top lawyers have said – leading to the jury demanding he pay a staggering $83.3 million in damages.
Trump stormed out of the courtroom Friday before the jury announced their decision to award writer E. Jean Carroll $60 million more in damages than she sought.
Carroll convinced the jury last year that Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman department store in the late 1990s, winning $5 million in damages and defamation after saying she was a liar.
When he repeated his insults after the first trial, she sued again for defamation, and on Friday, after an ill-tempered two-week trial, the jury took less than three hours to determine the amount awarded. The guilty verdict was handed down in 2023.
Donald Trump is seen outside the courthouse in Manhattan – one of several times he has railed against the judge and the legal system. Analysts said it turned the jury against him
E. Jean Carroll is seen leaving court in Manhattan on Friday after winning $83.3 million from Donald Trump
Judge Lewis Kaplan was unimpressed by Trump and his team’s outbursts
Donald Trump is seen leaving the court on Friday before the verdict was announced
Chris Mattei, a defamation attorney who won a $1.5 billion jury verdict in the Alex Jones defamation lawsuit, said jurors often respond poorly to defendants who appear arrogant and rude.
“These are ordinary people who follow the rules,” he said Business insider.
“And then they see someone come into the courtroom and basically give the middle finger to the law? No, average people don’t want that.’
Mattei said the amount awarded was an indication that the jury believed no one should be above the law.
“You can’t allow someone who is just flaunting the law to be admitted in principle,” Mattei said. “That’s not how our system works.”
Chris Mattei is due in court in September 2022, representing the Sandy Hook families in their defamation lawsuit against Alex Jones. Mattei said Trump’s behavior in court worked against him
Trump is seen leaving Trump Tower on Friday to travel to the courtroom in Manhattan
John Jones, a former federal judge in Pennsylvania and now president of Dickinson College, agreed — and said Trump’s legal team also came across as self-righteous and obnoxious.
“When lawyers and litigants trample on a judge or ignore his admonitions, juries don’t like that,” Jones said.
He said Trump storming the courtroom during closing arguments Friday afternoon likely also left a bad taste in the juror’s mouth.
“That’s a really disrespectful thing to do,” Jones added. “It looks arrogant and inappropriate.”
Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor from New Jersey, agreed, telling CNN, “To get up and storm out in the middle of all that? You are asking for such a judgment.’
After the verdict was announced, Trump declared that there is “no more justice in America.”
The former president, 77, vowed to appeal, calling the case a “Biden Directed Witch Hunt.”
He wrote on Truth Social: “Our justice system is broken and unfair!”
When the verdict was read out, he branded it ‘absolutely ridiculous’.
E. Jean Carroll, in white, is seen leaving court in Manhattan with her friends and legal team on Friday evening
Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said she was “proud” to defend the former president, who entered the legal system after E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million verdict.
“I’ve been in trial after trial in this state for months… and now we see what you get in New York,” Habba told reporters as she left the court.
“I have no hesitation in representing President Trump,” she told a reporter as she left Manhattan Federal Court, moments after the damages award was read in court.
Alina Habba, Trump’s embattled lawyer, said outside court that she “saw a violation of our justice system.”
Habba – who was reprimanded several times by Judge Lewis Kaplan – claimed that Trump was not allowed to defend himself.
He was not allowed to relitigate the case, but was allowed to speak in his defense.
Habba, however, said he had been denied his rights.
She continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, you should not be stripped of any defense you may have.
“Guess what my client did: he took a stand and adhered to the corrupt system I saw.
‘We will appeal immediately. We will put aside that ridiculous jury.”
Trump can now pay the $83.3 million to the court, which will hold the money while the appeal is pending — as he did last year with the $5.5 million awarded to Carroll.
Or he can try to secure a bond, which will likely require him to make a down payment and offer collateral, and agree to pay interest and fees.
Trump is notoriously reluctant to spend money, with a host of suppliers claiming he would argue with them over an already agreed upon price.
It may also be complicated for him to find banks willing to lend him the money, given the legal jeopardy he is in.
Trump has promised to appeal, but will ultimately have to pay Carroll, legal experts say
The New York-born businessman has used donations to his political action committee to pay his legal fees, but the accounts do not include $83.3 million.
He has bragged about his wealth and owns significant assets, meaning Carroll will likely receive her money eventually.
He sold his Washington DC hotel in May 2022 for $375 million, telling the court he had $400 million in cash.
Bruce Green, director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham University, told The New York Times: “He is the rare defendant with an $83 million judgment against him who actually has the money.
“Wherever this ends up, she should be able to collect it.”
However, the $83.3 million isn’t the only payout he’ll likely have to make.
New York’s attorney general is seeking a $370 million fine from the former president and his family business as part of a civil fraud trial concluded this month, with a judge expected to decide the amount in the coming weeks.