Posted on 04/21/2023 12:32:29 PM PDT by thegagline
A federal judge who will oversee Donald Trump’s sexual assault civil trial in Manhattan says the former president is free to skip attending the trial — but that he cannot claim he did so to avoid “burdens” on the city that his presence in court might cause.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan set the ground rules in an order Thursday in response to a request by Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina that jurors be instructed that Trump didn’t attend in order to avoid “logistical burdens.”
In proposed jury instructions submitted Wednesday, Tacopina requested that the judge tell panelists: “While no litigant is required to appear at a civil trial, the absence of the defendant in this matter, by design, avoids the logistical burdens that his presence, as the former president, would cause the courthouse and New York City.
“Accordingly, his presence is excused unless and until he is called by either party to testify.” In his order Thursday, Kaplan said Trump’s lawyers, for now, could not raise the alleged “burdens” to the jury if he chooses not to attend.
“Mr. Trump is free to attend, to testify, or both. He is free also to do none of those things,” Kaplan wrote in the one-page order.
“In the meantime, there shall be no reference by counsel for Mr. Trump in the presence of the jury panel or the trial jury to Mr. Trump’s alleged desire to testify or to the burdens that any absence on his part allegedly might spare, or might have spared, the Court or the City of New York,” he added.***
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Ot was explained in post #1 that Trump was asked to provide a DNAvsample and refused.
I am surprised she has a sample from the allged rape...
I would not give my DNA to anyone for any reason unless legally compelled to do so-it simply does not make any sense in such a litigious atmosphere-DNA does not lie-but humans do, and they can be bought$$$...
Trump refused to provide his tax returns to Congress also. They went to court and got a court ruling that provided them with the tax returns, which in the end revealed absolutely nothing they could use against him. He knew that would be the case but stood on principal. I expect this is exactly the same situation. Interestingly, the court never ordered him to provide a DNA sample. Why not? Could it be she doesn’t have anything with which to compare, and the court knows this?
Seems to me that unless she filed a police report, provided the garment as evidence and can prove chain of custody from that event, how can the garment be proved to be the one she was wearing and that the DNA was from that day?
Should be fairly easy to get the evidence thrown out as tainted.
I thought this was a civil defamation case. Why does the headline scream sexual assault?
I am not ignorant of the value of DNA. Modern technology can help build picture of what the donor looks like.
For example:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/state-trooper-dna-helped-catch-mass-joggers-alleged/story?id=46841780
Also, we know Donald Trump’s ancestry. We can predict which haplogroups he is likely to have and where his autosomal cousins hail from.
He is smart not to give a DNA sample. She could have obtained a casual contact sample (some one bumped into him at a party and sold her the sample). Make her prove the sample was promptly registered with the police and in their custody documented.
And even back then she was uglier than a baboon’s behind.
Of course, I can’t argue with your opinion. She resembled Marla Maples, and Trump mistakenly took E. Jean for Marla when showed that earlier photo.
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