15 Dec 2024 4:44 pm
Surely you don't honestly think a jury, even one in a civil trial, doesn't have to follow the law when it comes to their finding on the facts of the case. They typically have a great deal of freedom in determining the award, though an outrageously high amount would probably be lowered on appeal.
Once again, here is a link to the verdict form completed by the jury.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/0 ... l-00096059
Now, you know that court filing by Kaplan you love to quote so much? From page 3 of that filing;
The jury’s unanimous verdict in Carroll II was almost entirely in favor of Ms. Carroll. The only point on which Ms. Carroll did not prevail was whether she had proved that Mr. Trump had “raped” her within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law – a section that provides that the label “rape” as used in criminal prosecutions in New York applies only to vaginal penetration by a penis. Forcible, unconsented-to penetration of the vagina or of other bodily orifices by fingers, other body parts, or other articles or materials is not called “rape” under the New York Penal Law. It instead is labeled “sexual abuse.”
As is shown in the following notes, the definition of rape in the New York Penal Law is far narrower than the meaning of “rape” in common modern parlance,...
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap ... .212.0.pdf
Even your precious judge Kaplan clearly states the jury verdict was that Trump did not rape Carroll. They were bound by New York state law. You will need to ask Kaplan why he felt the need to make up his own definition of rape and lie about the jury verdict in his filing.