Former judge Andrew Napolitano on Monday told Newsmax that he thought the $83 million verdict that former President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay columnist E. Jean Carroll following his defamation trial is "way out of proportion."
A Manhattan jury on Friday ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her after she accused him of sexual assault in 2019, a figure which includes $65 million in punitive damages.
Napolitano said on "Wake Up America," when asked about the verdict in Trump's defamation trial, "I thought the verdict was way out of proportion to the alleged behavior of the former president."
He added: "The number is truly astronomical, and the courts should not be in the business of punishing speech. … Now, the speech was defamatory because the court found it defamatory as a matter of law, meaning the issue before the jury was not 'did Donald Trump defame E. Jean Carroll,' that had already been resolved."
Napolitano said: "Another jury already decided $5 million for the sexual assault, if that sexual assault occurred as the jury found that it did, and it was worth $5 million, how could the mere use of words be worth $83 million?"
He added, "It's hard for me to believe that an appellate court will uphold that."
Napolitano also commented on Trump's conduct during the trial, noting that his walking out of the courtroom during the prosecution's closing arguments "was not a wise move."
He said: "In my opinion, for the former president to make that" decision, "that really is him thumbing his nose … it will be perceived by the jury as disrespect for the judicial process. Many judges would lock the courtroom door during closing arguments so that no one can enter and no one can leave; that's how important the closing arguments are."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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