During E. Jean Carroll’s second sexual-assault defamation trial, Donald Trump appeared visibly unhappy, often crossing his arms, glowering, and muttering complaints from his seat at the defense table.
But the lead lawyer, Alina Habba, may have had an even worse time in that Manhattan courtroom, where Carroll hopes a federal jury will hit Trump with monetary damages high enough to finally “make him stop” defaming her.
Throughout the day, and with Carroll herself on the stand, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan rebuked Habba from the bench.
At one point, the judge tersely interrupted the lawyer, telling her to “sit down.”
Here, in chronological order, are 14 times Habba was taken to task on Wednesday by the fed-up judge
1. “I make the rulings here, not the lawyers”
“The last I heard, Ms. Habba, I do not need announcements from counsel on what they intend to do,” Kaplan instructed when Habba interrupted Carroll’s direct testimony by standing up and saying her opponents “opened the door” on an issue that she would, as a result, address during cross-examination later.
“And I make the rulings here, not the lawyers,” Kaplan added. When Habba tried to press her point, Kaplan told her succinctly, “Sit down.”
“OK,” Habba said, sitting.
. . . (continued)