“Glaringly obvious” incompetence on display as judge tells jury to “disregard everything Ms. Habba just said”

Trump lawyer Alina Habba struggled through her cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the defamation case against the former president, repeatedly admonished the attorney for running afoul of his court rules and general procedures.

Prior to Carroll’s testimony, Habba requested an adjournment so that Trump could attend his mother-in-law’s funeral.

“The application is denied. I will hear no further argument on it. None. Do you understand that word? None. Please sit down,” Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, told Habba about the motion that he already denied.

Kaplan repeatedly interrupted Habba’s questions, including when she began to read from a document that had not been formally entered into evidence, sending the trial to a recess.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    This case is just like the New York one. The matter of guilt is already settled, only the award remains.

    The real lawyers will work on the real case, witch is the appeal. Habba’s job is to make headlines, keep Trump in the news, and fight every inch no matter how useless. Just because her behavior makes her a bad lawyer, doesn’t mean she’s not serving her client, or that she’s dumb. Habba’s legal work probably amounts to tens of millions of dollars in free prime time advertising for Trump’s reelection.

    Trump’s strategy is to be in the news everyday. So many scandals that only Rachael Maddow can keep it all straight. Is it a good strategy? It worked in 2016.

    • RavenFellBlade@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Make no mistake, her job is incredibly simple: stall and waste as much of the court’s time as possible and give Trump potential mistrial grounds.

      • orbitz@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        When I read about her glaringly obvious mistakes (according to an article regarding admitting evidence,stating positions on things where the judge said she’d turn into a witness if her statement was true) that was the first thing that came to mind, she’s there to make it last longer, and doesn’t seem like the courts have a way to handle it well without a new trial so it goes slowly. Trump is like a full blown security test on US political and legal systems and they aren’t performing well to his strategies.

    • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Just because her behavior makes her a bad lawyer, doesn’t mean she’s not serving her client, or that she’s dumb.

      Doesn’t she risk being debarred?

      • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I don’t know her plans, but it wouldn’t matter to me if I made bank off this one clown show of a trial. Dress me up! 🤡

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I don’t think it’s a “strategy” as much as “the only thing he knows”. Remember, this guy has only made money in real estate. Everything else flopped. He has the strategy of a real estate salesman who tells you unverifiable things like “George Washington had dinner here” and “it will double in value”.

      It’s going to backfire now because it gets boring. Why do you think everyone in NYC hates him?