Donald Trump’s lawyers asked a New York judge Friday to suspend an $83.3 million defamation verdict against the former president, saying there was a “strong probability” that it would be reduced on appeal, if not eliminated.

The lawyers made the request in Manhattan federal court, where a civil jury in late January awarded the sum to advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after a five-day trial that focused only on damages. A judge had ordered the jury to accept the findings of another jury that last year concluded Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 and defamed her in 2022.

The second jury focused only on statements Trump made in 2019 while he was president in a case long delayed by appeals.

  • cubism_pitta@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    No, he was not actually convicted of rape in a criminal court.

    So even though a judge has called him a rapist he is not “legally” a rapist as he has not been found guilty of the crime of rape.

    Criminal court is where you go when a DA is brining charges against you. Civil court is the place where you and I would go to settle a lawsuit.

    • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      He is legally a rapist now. Adjudicated by the court.

      Just not criminally. (Yet)

      He was close to getting nailed for child rape but he threatened and intimidated the victim out of testifying and she disappeared.