{"id":3682,"date":"2023-05-15T10:52:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T10:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2023-05-13T10:54:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T10:54:26","slug":"evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A jury of nine spoke with one voice.\u00a0 Donald Trump sexually assaulted a woman, brazenly, in a high-end department store, lied about it, and maliciously defamed his victim.\u00a0 To put it mildly, Mr. Trump was likely not the easiest client to represent, and his cause not the easiest to defend.\u00a0 But the case warrants a post-mortem to assess the tools of Evidence law that may have contributed to the verdict.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of the power of \u2018other acts\u2019 proof, it was the breadth of Federal Rule of Evidence 415 that gave the plaintiff tremendous corroborative proof.\u00a0 Unlike Pennsylvania law, which bars such proof and restricts proof to evidence of plan, unique <em>modus <\/em>operandi, or similar non-character uses, 415 specifically permits propensity proof, a \u2018did it once, likely did it again\u2019 approach restricted to cases of sexual assault and misconduct.\u00a0 More specifically, that Rule allows \u201cIn a civil case involving a claim for relief based on a party\u2019s alleged sexual assault or child molestation\u2026evidence that the party committed any other sexual assault or child molestation.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAny\u201d sexual act.\u00a0 No requirement of similar <em>modus operandi<\/em>; no time span limitation; no heightened burden of proof.\u00a0 What did that allow here, where the assault proved was said to have occurred in 1995 or 1996?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>testimony from two other women \u2013 Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds \u2013 who say that they were sexually assaulted by Trump and detailed forcible groping and kissing in incidents 36 years apart. One was 1979, the other in 2005; one on an airplane, the other at Mar-A-Lago.<\/li>\n<li>The infamous Hollywood Access tape from 2005, with the infamous boast \u201c\u201cWhen you\u2019re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything \u2026 Grab \u2018em by the p&#8212;sy.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[Before I go on, it is worth noting that the other acts didn\u2019t make the assault on Ms. Carroll occur or not occur.\u00a0 In other words, Carroll was assaulted regardless of whether the other women disclosed what happened to them and were willing to testify.\u00a0 The \u2018other acts\u2019 proof gave [added] credibility to Carroll \u2013 sadly, still an essential ingredient in many sexual assault cases even though statistically there are few false accusations regarding such crimes.]<\/p>\n<p>Corroboration by propensity was followed by corroboration by Carroll\u2019s reports to others.\u00a0 Sometimes denominated \u201cprompt complaint\u201d\u00a0 evidence, other times deemed a prior consonant statement admissible as substantive proof [the federal approach, not Pennsylvania\u2019s] after an attack based on recent fabrication or corrupt motive, or possibly an excited utterance, the jury in this trial heard of two such reports.\u00a0 It is noteworthy that in pre-trial motions the defense challenged their use based on late disclosure, not on a hearsay ground.<\/p>\n<p>And what came in with those complaints?\u00a0 According to one news report, \u201cAsked why she was testifying, Birnbach said: \u2018I\u2019m here because I\u2019m her friend and I want the world to know she\u2019s telling the truth.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/may\/02\/trump-rape-trial-lisa-birnbach-testimony\">https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/may\/02\/trump-rape-trial-lisa-birnbach-testimony<\/a> \u00a0The second friend?\u00a0 Another news report explained that\u00a0 she stated that &#8220;I&#8217;m here because I want to reiterate and remember what my friend E. Jean Carroll told me 27 years ago. I believed it then and I believe it today[.]&#8221; \u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/e-jean-carrolls-friend-testifies-that-they-didnt-scheme-to-make-up-a-rape-allegation-to-stop-trump\/ar-AA1aKkcW\">https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/e-jean-carrolls-friend-testifies-that-they-didnt-scheme-to-make-up-a-rape-allegation-to-stop-trump\/ar-AA1aKkcW<\/a> \u00a0An opinion on the truthfulness of another person?\u00a0 Hardly countenanced by the Rules of Evidence, here either not objected to or elicited.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there were the defendant\u2019s own words.\u00a0 The jury watched a video of Mr. Trump denying the accusation at a rally and telling the crowd \u201cBelieve me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/05\/02\/nyregion\/trump-carroll-rape-lawsuit.html\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/05\/02\/nyregion\/trump-carroll-rape-lawsuit.html<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0And perhaps most damning were his ruminations when deposed and asked about the Hollywood Access tape.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 80px\"><strong>KAPLAN<\/strong>: It\u2019s true with stars that they can grab women by the p*ssy?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 80px\"><strong>TRUMP<\/strong>: Well, that\u2019s what, if you look over the last million years I guess that\u2019s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.<\/p>\n<p>Formal use of a party\u2019s character is not allowed in civil litigation (other than the propensity proof allowed by Rule 415).\u00a0 But a successful trial presentation reveals the character of the players, be it good or bad.\u00a0 The words came in as relevant to address and contextualize the Hollywood Access tape, defended as being me braggadocio; but this opposing party statement saying that it might be \u201cfortunate[]\u201d that powerful men may grab women reveals a character trait of not caring, a disregard of the rights of others, and ultimately of approval of what was alleged here.<\/p>\n<p>There was so much more to this verdict. \u00a0Debates can be had about defense trial strategy. Was it a smart move for the defense to appear to brand everyone a liar and part of a grand conspiracy? For Mr. Trump to show the utmost disdain by not appearing? \u00a0Was it possible to have better prepared Mr. Trump for his deposition, or was that impossible given his temperament?\u00a0 If and when the jurors shed their anonymity, answers to these and other inquiries might begin to appear.\u00a0 For now, it is worth weighing the forms of proof, and what rules allow them or were disregarded, that gave the jury what it needed for this verdict.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A jury of nine spoke with one voice.\u00a0 Donald Trump sexually assaulted a woman, brazenly, in a high-end department store, lied about it, and maliciously defamed his victim.\u00a0 To put it mildly, Mr. Trump was likely not the easiest client to represent, and his cause not the easiest to defend.\u00a0 But the case warrants a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[330],"class_list":["post-3682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy-and-evidence-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A jury of nine spoke with one voice.\u00a0 Donald Trump sexually assaulted a woman, brazenly, in a high-end department store, lied about it, and maliciously defamed his victim.\u00a0 To put it mildly, Mr. Trump was likely not the easiest client to represent, and his cause not the easiest to defend.\u00a0 But the case warrants a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advocacy and Evidence Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/person\/ebe47f403ad14e2c5faec834f2d8472e\"},\"headline\":\"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\"},\"wordCount\":876,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Advocacy and Evidence Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\",\"name\":\"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/\",\"name\":\"Advocacy and Evidence Resources\",\"description\":\"Just another Law Sites site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advocacy and Evidence Resources\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/07\/AER-LOGO.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/07\/AER-LOGO.png\",\"width\":711,\"height\":220,\"caption\":\"Advocacy and Evidence Resources\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/person\/ebe47f403ad14e2c5faec834f2d8472e\",\"name\":\"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g6b68adb939ecac32ef61d8026f0bafe4\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/author\/tug27334\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources","og_description":"A jury of nine spoke with one voice.\u00a0 Donald Trump sexually assaulted a woman, brazenly, in a high-end department store, lied about it, and maliciously defamed his victim.\u00a0 To put it mildly, Mr. Trump was likely not the easiest client to represent, and his cause not the easiest to defend.\u00a0 But the case warrants a","og_url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/","og_site_name":"Advocacy and Evidence Resources","article_published_time":"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00","author":"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/"},"author":{"name":"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/person\/ebe47f403ad14e2c5faec834f2d8472e"},"headline":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP","datePublished":"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/"},"wordCount":876,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Advocacy and Evidence Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/","name":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP - Advocacy and Evidence Resources","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-05-15T10:52:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/2023\/05\/15\/evidence-advocacy-and-carroll-v-trump\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"EVIDENCE, ADVOCACY, AND CARROLL V. TRUMP"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#website","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/","name":"Advocacy and Evidence Resources","description":"Just another Law Sites site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#organization","name":"Advocacy and Evidence Resources","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/07\/AER-LOGO.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/07\/AER-LOGO.png","width":711,"height":220,"caption":"Advocacy and Evidence Resources"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/#\/schema\/person\/ebe47f403ad14e2c5faec834f2d8472e","name":"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g6b68adb939ecac32ef61d8026f0bafe4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d2a56b84151f5331c5c999af7a12cc505aeed9fec929142bc9dd30b398301e5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jules M Epstein (hehimhis)"},"url":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/author\/tug27334\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3683,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions\/3683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3682"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/aer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}