Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Trump’s Lawyers REALLY Suck!

 I think some of this is self-explanatory:

Habba: Did you receive Tweets in the 5 hours before President Trump spoke. 
Carroll: I hadn't seen them. 
Habba: Were you tagged? 
Judge Kaplan: Don't get into content! 
Habba: How do you suggest I proceed? 
Judge Kaplan: Show it to her, ask if she recognizes it. 
Habba: Do you recognize it? 
Carroll: Yes. 
Judge Kaplan: It's not marked. It should be marked. Do it appropriately. Do it overnight. They. Need. To. Be. Premarked.

This is how someone who learned trial practice from TeeVee would fare in the real world. You could sell this as  a legal comedy, but only to an audience of trial lawyers. I can’t begin to explain how really bad this is, but that analogy is pretty close to reality. This is so bad I’m shocked. Trump’s lawyers are worse than I ever imagined.

As basically as I can put it (without boring you silly; you don’t want to think just like a lawyer. Trust me.), there are rules of evidence, and Habba seems never to have heard of them.

Yup. Another fairly blunt example: This one’s a bit more abstruse: I won’t try to explain the hearsay rule (you don’t wanna know), but when Kaplan says “It certainly isn’t hearsay,” he’s stating a fact, not really ruling on an objection. The judge is not saying “I disagree;” he’s saying “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” And he’s probably considering recommending her federal license to practice in the EDNY be revoked. Humiliating yourself on a national stage is something that almost makes me feel sorry for her. Here’s a narrative summary of how it went for her:
Habba then began her cross-examination of Carroll. She began by attempting to impeach Carroll on her testimony that she moved from Montana to New York because it was boring. However, Habba demonstrated that she didn't understand how to do that properly, so the judge took a recess to attempt to instruct her. She came back, and still couldn't do it right. She finally gave up. 
... 
At one point, Habba was struggling again to impeach Carroll about whether she was aware that people didn't believe her story even before Trump first commented on it. However, she couldn't figure out again how to do that and the judge took another recess for her to perhaps consult with another lawyer who might be able to teach her how.
That is not how a lead counsel in a trial should be doing her job.

Perhaps not coincidentally, 
The judge threatened to toss him out of court today, and I honestly don’t think Trump is brave enough to let that happen. Trump said he’d love for that to happen, but Trump is all talk and no action. He can’t really take the humiliation of bailiffs escorting him from the courthouse, especially without TV cameras there.

I doubt he’ll be back this week. I like to think he’s also appalled at the legal talent he has in court right now. And Habba really isn’t worse than the rest of Trump’s stable. Just wait and see.
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