AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba has been causing quite a ruckus in his second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial — making so many simple mistakes in the courtroom that the presiding judge bench-slapped her 14 times in one day of testimony last week.
And the judge actually showed restraint in his repeated scoldings of Habba, a former federal judge told Business Insider.
New York federal Judge Lewis Kaplan grew increasingly frustrated with Habba's conduct in court last Wednesday, reprimanding her for everything from not following the proper procedures for introducing evidence to disregarding his previous rulings.
At one point, Kaplan barked at her, "I make the rulings here, not the lawyers," before telling her to "sit down."
Yet despite Kaplan's warnings, Habba continued to flout his authority, repeatedly making the same mistakes and pursuing lines of questioning he had already overruled.
In addition to his lawyer, Trump had also been disruptive in court, loudly disparaging Carroll during her testimony.
"I think Kaplan is being really measured under the circumstances in his reactions to both Trump and Habba," John Jones, a former federal judge for over 20 years, told Business Insider.
"He was really careful about not overreacting, and I don't think he overreacted to Habba either," Jones said of Kaplan's repeated admonishing. "I think he's trying to send her signals, which is what a good judge does about how to try her case and what to do, and she's just blowing past those signals."
Jones said that by being disruptive in the court, Habba is doing exactly what Trump wants: sowing chaos.
"It's an unprofessional and bad look," Jones, who served in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said. "But I think Habba doesn't care about any of that. What she cares about is making Trump happy."
But, by catering to Trump's wishes instead of respecting the judge's, Habba is "playing with fire," Jones, who is now president of President of Dickinson College, said.
He added that Habba's conduct is likely to turn the jury against her.
"The inescapable conclusion the jury members get is that she's run afoul the judge and that she's doing something wrong," Jones said.
"So, Habba, not only does she not really have a strategy and a clear defense, rather than to just be disruptive in court, but she's got an impossible situation with her client," Jones added. "So I mean, this is a horror show from a defensive standpoint."
