General Discussion

In the first of two related cases that went to trial, a jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million. The 2nd Circuit previously upheld those damages in the case in which Trump has a Supreme Court petition due Nov. 10.

In Monday’s ruling, the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit concluded that the five-figure damages “were reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts of this case.” The three-judge panel also rejected Trump’s arguments that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling saves him and that the district judge who presided over the case made erroneous legal rulings.....

Monday’s decision involves the second of the two cases that went to trial, where a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million for statements Trump made when he was still in office. The panel rejected his argument that the damages were excessive, reasoning that there was “ample evidence that Trump was recklessly indifferent to Carroll’s health and safety.” The panel noted that his statements “had a domino effect,” as Carroll “was subjected to ongoing and prolific harassment as a result of these statements, including a multitude of death threats and other threats of physical injury.”

Trump’s conduct “supports a significant punitive damages award — it involved malice and deceit, caused severe emotional injury, and continued over at least a five-year period,” the panel concluded.

The three judges on Monday’s panel were appointed by former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. In the $5 million case that’s further along on appeal, Trump had asked the full 2nd Circuit to review the case before taking it to the Supreme Court. The full appeals court declined to do so, but two Trump appointees dissented while suggesting that Trump was treated unfairly. In his forthcoming petition to the justices in that case, his lawyers might seek to highlight that dissent to a likeminded Supreme Court majority. That’s all to say that in both Carroll cases, the appeals court’s rejections of Trump’s arguments might not be the final word.