The Anonymous Jury That Will Decide Trump’s Fate in His Rape Lawsuit

Erik Larson
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- The jury that will decide whether former President Donald Trump sexually assaulted advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s is made up of six men and three women whose jobs range from physical therapist to librarian.

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US District Judge Lewis Kaplan oversaw the selection of the jury in Manhattan on Tuesday with a process intended to keep their identities secret during the civil trial. Kaplan said the precaution was necessary to protect their safety and privacy given the high-profile nature of the case and Trump’s history of disparaging people affiliated with his legal disputes.

Nine people were picked from a pool of about 100. All were advised by Kaplan that keeping their identities secret was a top priority. They’ll be picked up at a secret location each day and delivered to court, and return home the same way. “I don’t know your name, and nobody in this room knows your name,” he said. “God willing — no one will know your names and if you don’t want anyone to know your names — that’s within your power.”

Here’s what we do know about the nine jurors:

  • A 37-year-old man who works for the New York Public Library, has a bachelors degree in accounting and a masters in library sciences. He’s married with one child.

  • A 65-year-old physical therapist who lives in the Bronx with his wife and four children. He says he gets his news from CNN.

  • A 26-year-old man who was born and raised in Manhattan, dropped out of college to work and now does security for a retail company. He says he gets his news from social media.

  • A 46-year-old Bronx native with a high school education who doesn’t watch news and works as a janitor and as a sales associate in a clothing store.

  • A 31-year-old man from the Bronx who works in security and told the judge he has no children “that I know of.” He said he avoids news but listens to podcasts occasionally.

  • A 55-year-old woman from Westchester County who works as a collections coordinator for a health-care facility. She lives with her significant other and has a son.

  • A 60-year-old Rockland County man who is married with two kids and works for a hospital in Manhattan. He said he doesn’t watch any particular news channel.

  • A 62-year-old woman who works in a high school and whose husband works in a factory. She said she gets her news from CNN.

  • A 66-year-old woman who is retired from the health care industry. She lives in the Bronx with her retired husband and says she watches local TV news.

Having a majority of men on the panel won’t automatically help Trump, according to Michelle Simpson Tuegel, a jury selection expert and an attorney who represented victims in high-profile assault cases, including litigation against Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics over abuse by former team doctor Larry Nassar.

“It is easy to stereotype men as prone to distrust sexual assault allegations and put themselves in the shoes of the defendant, worrying about being falsely accused,” Simpson Tuegel said. “But on the flip side, male jurors may feel like they would never have done what the defendant did and be more punitive if they find the survivor’s testimony to be credible.”

She added, “Juries in New York tend to be more liberal and open to the reality that sexual violence is widespread and that many people don’t come forward for years or even decades after the assault happened. But that lived experience is not isolated to a political side. It’s one thing that makes jury selection in sexual-assault cases unique from other civil disputes.”

The case is Carroll v. Trump, 22-cv-10016, US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Updates with comment from jury selection expert.)

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