Jury finds Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll

 E. Jean Carroll is “overjoyed” and feels she got justice from the jury and court today, her attorney told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

 “I almost don’t have adjectives to describe it,” Roberta Kaplan said, when asked about how Carroll responded to the verdict. “She is overjoyed. She cried. She showed more emotion – and I’ve known her for a long time now – than I’ve ever seen her show.
“She feels that she got justice from the jury today and from the court. And she feels she really stood up, and she has, stood up for almost every woman who’s been defamed, who’s been kicked down, who’s been shut up,” she added.
“I think she feels she really played a part in making things better for women everywhere.”

She also told Cooper:

The post was updated with more of Roberta Kaplan’s remarks in her interview with Anderson Cooper.

E. Jean Carroll praised her legal team and called the jury’s decision “a huge defeat” for anyone who has tried to keep down women.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called the decision proof that the rule of law applies to everyone.

“Today’s verdict proves that the law applies to everyone in our country, even the rich, even the famous, even former presidents,” Kaplan said in a statement.
“There is a way to stand up to someone like Donald Trump, who cares more about wealth, fame and power than respecting the law,” Kaplan added. “Standing up to a bully takes courage and bravery; it takes someone like E. Jean Carroll. We thank the jury for standing up for E. Jean and the rule of law.”

Some background: The verdict, awarding Carroll $83.3 million, was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.

But this verdict was on a whole different scale – awarding $65 million in punitive damages alone and a total dollar figure eight times higher than what Carroll initially sought in her lawsuit.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday reacted to the $83.3 million jury verdict against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.

“Donald Trump wants to be the presumptive Republican nominee and we’re talking about $83 million in damages. We’re not talking about fixing the border. We’re not talking about tackling inflation. America can do better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley said in a post on X.

The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations. 

President Joe Biden’s campaign and the White House have declined to comment after a Manhattan federal jury decided former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging her and denying her rape allegations. 

It’s similar to the approach his team has taken with Trump’s other legal cases, staying quiet to avoid any perception of political interference. They’ve shown no signs of shifting from that approach even as Biden has ramped up his criticism of his predecessor on the campaign trail. 

It highlights the careful balancing act Biden faces as he tries to paint Trump as an unfit leader and threat to democracy while avoiding specifically mentioning the legal cases that will be front and center in this year’s election.  

Biden surrogates: But Senator Chris Coons, one of Biden’s top allies and campaign co-chair did weigh in, saying the punitive damages in the civil case reflect the nature of Trump’s conduct.

Coons said Trump “learned nothing” after a May 2023 verdict that found Trump guilty of sexual abuse. He said Trump “only continued to attack and defame her and as a result is going to pay record damages.”

The Democratic senator said that “tells you something about his character and his conduct.”

A jury said that Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million in damages Friday, an eye-popping sum that marks the sharpest legal setback for a former president now entangled in multiple criminal and civil cases while he campaigns for the White House.

The verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded E. Jean Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.

Here are the key takeaways from the defamation trial and verdict:

Catch up on what else this verdict means for Trump.

Donald Trump’s legal team will “immediately appeal” the verdict issued by a jury ordering the former president to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages, one of his lawyers said Friday.

In remarks outside the courthouse, attorney Alina Habba brushed off what she called a “ridiculous jury” decision.

Habba also criticized the judge, saying he wasn’t allowed any defense in front of the jury.

“We were stripped of every defense, every single defense before we walked in there and I am proud to stand with President Trump because he showed up, he stood up, he took the stand and he faced this judge,” Habba said.

Before Judge Lewis Kaplan entered the courtroom for the verdict, Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba hugged E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley.

Habba then spoke in a friendly manner with Crowley and Carroll’s other attorney Roberta Kaplan. Trump was not in the courtroom, having left in his motorcade at around 4 p.m. ET.

After the verdict sheet was given to the judge — but before it was read in full — the judge asked the jury foreperson, “What does the ‘M’ mean?”

The foreperson answered, “Million.”

Carroll and Kaplan held hands at their table as the verdict was read, with Kaplan on her right and Crowley on her left.

After the verdict was read, Carroll stood, holding hands with Crowley and Kaplan.

Afterward, the judge advised the jurors to never disclose they were on this jury.

Former President Donald Trump on Friday blasted the verdict reached by a jury ordering him to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages and said he would appeal the decision. 

Trump posted this on Truth Social:

“Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party. Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

After the verdict was read Friday, E. Jean Carroll was in a group hug with her lawyers Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan – and then was in a receiving line hugging her other attorneys.

After adjourning, CNN producer Lauren del Valle heard an audible gasp that sounded like a sob as she hugged her attorneys, although she was not sure that gasp came from Carroll.

Everyone has left the courtroom.

Former President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for public statements he made in 2019 disparaging Carroll and denying her rape allegations, a Manhattan federal jury determined Friday. 

The jury found Trump should pay Carroll compensatory damages of $18.3 million — $11 million to fund a reputational repair campaign and $7.3 million for the emotional harm caused by Trump’s 2019 public statements.

Trump should also pay $65 million in punitive damages for acting maliciously in making the statements about Carroll, the jury found.

The total is more than eight times what Carroll asked for in her initial lawsuit.

Last May, a separate Manhattan federal jury awarded Carroll a total of $5 million in damages — including nearly $3 million for defamation — after they found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022 for public statements he made disparaging her and denying the allegations. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan thanked the jury for their service after the verdict was read.

Kaplan told the jurors they can speak publicly about serving on the jury but cannot reveal the identity of any other juror.

A jury in Manhattan federal court has reached a verdict in the civil defamation trial to determine how much in damages Donald Trump should pay E. Jean Carroll — if any — for defamatory public statements he made about the writer in 2019, according to a court official.

The panel of seven men and two women deliberated for approximately 2 hours 45 minutes today.

During her closing argument, Carroll’s attorney said the writer deserves at least $24 million in damages. 

 The verdict will be read in court shortly. 

Trump will not be in the courtroom as he departed the courthouse in his motorcade around 4 p.m. He is not required to be present in court. 

 The post has been updated with more details on the jury and the timeline. 

Former President Donald Trump departed the Manhattan federal courthouse around 4 p.m. ET with his motorcade.

The jury in the civil defamation case continues to deliberate the damages that Trump would owe E. Jean Carroll. Trump did not have to be present during the trial, but has attended most days of arguments.

E. Jean Carroll sat two rows in front of Donald Trump, with a monitor in between them on Friday morning as closing arguments got underway.

Three jurors wore masks. A blonde woman seated in the second row of the box was on the edge of her seat through most of the closing arguments by Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, and by Trump’s attorney Alina Habba. The juror to her right was chewing gum and was turned away from the podium. During the 3 1/2 hours he was in the courtroom, Trump mostly sat up in his chair with his elbows on the table.

The former president didn’t sit back until the judge was reading the instructions to the jury. After a 10-minute break, Trump returned to the defense table for Habba’s closing.

Habba was heated during her arguments – so close to the mic, and so loud that her voice was crackling through the sound system. Trump would glance over at her with an appreciative smirk. 

When Habba spoke about Carroll hanging her pants over her window for safety, seemingly mocking her by saying she didn’t call the cops but “she hung the pants” Trump smirked at Habba’s performance.

When it came time to read the instructions to the jury, Judge Lewis Kaplan had the courtroom locked. No one from the jury wanted to take a break. The instructions were the only time Trump sat back in his chair for an extended period. He stretched his back for a second. He took out some Tic Tacs and downed some.

The jury of nine now has the case after the judge overseeing Trump’s civil defamation trial has finished charging the jury with instructions.

Judge Lewis Kaplan told the jury that the jury system is the bedrock of our justice system. Reading from the US Constitution he started “we the people…”

He then told the jury they are playing a vital role in our constitutional system. “And that role dates back to the earliest days of our nation.”

The judge said that if the jury doesn’t have a verdict by 4:30 p.m., it must send a note to indicate they want to stay later.

Former President Donald Trump remained in the courtroom during E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Shawn Crowley’s rebuttal, a change in behavior after he left in the middle of Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan’s closing argument earlier Friday.

Crowley concluded her rebuttal by saying essentially that Trump believes he is above the law.

Trump believes that “He gets to lie. He gets to threaten. He gets to ignore a jury verdict. He gets to defy the law and the rules of this courtroom,” Crowley said. “You saw how he behaved through this trial. Rules don’t apply to Donald Trump.”

“Ladies and gentleman, this isn’t a campaign rally. It’s not a press event. It’s a court of law and Miss Carroll’s life,” Crowley said. “Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. He defamed her. He is not the victim.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan is now giving instructions to the jury.

E. Jean Carroll attorney Shawn Crowley acknowledged that more people know Carroll now than they did in 2019 before she made the sexual assault allegations against then-President Donald Trump.

“When you make an allegation against a sitting president, and he uses his massive megaphone to go after you, more people are going to know who you are,” Crowley said.

She also has received support from many people, including “some celebrities,” Crowley said. That support does not overshadow the negative reputation she now has, her lawyer argued.

Trump’s statements about Carroll to this day are “dripping with malice, with hate,” Crowley said.

“When the president speaks, the world listens,” she said. “The hate mail, the threats that she’s gotten — they parrot Donald Trump’s words.” 

Crowley also pushed back on Trump’s defense argument that Carroll is happy and enjoys the attention she’s gotten.

“Those moments of joy do not mean that her life has been easy since June 2019. Far from it,” Crowley said.

E. Jean Carroll attorney Shawn Crowley began her rebuttal telling the jury they needed a reset because Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said so many untrue things during her closing.

“I’m going to follow the rules of the courtroom, a thing Mr. Trump and his lawyers do not seem to be able to do,” Crowley said, jabbing at Habba.

Crowley, in her rebuttal, said Trump’s defense is that Carroll knew what she was doing and she asked for it.

“Have we really not moved past that dated idea?” asked Crowley. “Ms. Carroll did not ask to be called a liar. She did not ask to be called ugly. She didn’t ask for death threats. She didn’t ask to be accused of lying.”

Crowley said Carroll came forward because “she thought it was finally time to speak publicly about what he” — extending her arm and pointing directly at Trump – “had done to her.”

“The law protects her from being defamed for telling the truth,” Crowley said. “And he’s still breaking the law literally to this day.”

Trump attorney Alina Habba told the jury that E. Jean Carroll’s allegations gave her back the lavish lifestyle she once lived.

Habba attempted to toe the line of denying Carroll’s allegations again, telling the jury that Trump has “consistently stated his position as is his American right.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan cut her off to again instruct the jury that they must accept that it’s been previously established by a prior jury that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll.

Habba responded, “Yes, it’s been established by a jury.”

“It is established, and you will not quarrel with me,” Kaplan responded, telling Habba to finish her presentation.

Habba moved on to criticize Carroll’s expert witness, professor Ashlee Humphreys, and has now ended her presentation.

Trump attorney Alina Habba told the jury that E. Jean Carroll does not actually live in fear, pointing to texts she sent her friend Carol Martin that were shown to the jury.

“There are two versions of Ms. Carroll — the one which her friend knew and testified to, and the one that comes to court to get money from my client,” Habba said. “Which do you believe?” 

Habba said Trump does not condone the hateful messages sent to Carroll. “You heard him say he did not intend to hurt her,” she said, referring to his brief testimony on Wednesday.

The negative messages should be “universally condemned,” Habba said. “But President Trump should not have to pay for their threats. He does not condone them. He did not direct them. All he did was tell his truth.”

Carroll showed the jury the “mean tweets” she received and said her feelings were hurt, Habba said.

“She tugged on your heart strings,” Habba told the jurors. “I don’t blame her for one bit. My feelings would be hurt too. But that’s what happens when you’re a public figure.”

Judge Lewis Kaplan once again admonished Trump attorney Alina Habba while she was giving her closing argument. 

Habba said during her presentation that E. Jean Carroll’s “bank rollers are paying my witnesses’ attorneys’ fees, in a form of desperation I have never seen.” Habba was referring to witness Carol Martin, E. Jean’s Carroll’s longtime friend who testified Thursday as a hostile witness for the defense.

Kaplan cut Habba off at this point, sustaining an objection by Carroll’s attorney. The judge admonished Habba, saying “If you violate my instructions again Miss Habba you may have consequences.”

Earlier in her argument, Habba played a clip of Trump’s video response to the first trial verdict, in which he called the lawsuit a witch hunt and repeated his denials related to Carroll. Habba then also said Carroll’s allegations were not true.

Kaplan admonished her for echoing her client’s denials and instructed the jury to disregard it.

Habba the jury that Trump did not respond to Carroll’s story released in “The Cut” in June 2019 — which contained Carroll’s allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her — for about five hours because “he was busy running the country.”

As she did during witness testimony, Habba discussed at length the negative social media messages Carroll received soon after the release of her allegations.

“This is the beauty and dangers of free speech in America. President Trump has no more control over the thoughts and feelings of social media users than he does the weather,” Habba said.

Habba also recalled Carroll showing the jury six threats she received related to Trump, and then commented, “That’s me on a good day and President Trump.”

Kaplan cut her off to say the comment was inappropriate.

Former President Donald Trump — who walked out of the courtroom early during E. Jean Carroll’s attorney’s presentation this morning — has returned to the defense table.

Trump attorney Alina Habba has begun delivering her closing argument.

Habba noted this is the second trial for Carroll “for additional money damages.”

“We have watched six days of a plaintiff trying to pin twitter trolls comments on a former president of the United States without accepting any responsibility for the media and the press frenzy and the public profile that she wanted and she still enjoys,” Habba said.

.Jean Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan has wrapped up her closing argument, saying her client deserves at least $24 million in compensatory damages to repair Carroll’s reputation and compensate her for the emotional harm Donald Trump caused her.

For a wealthy man like Trump, she said, the only way to potentially deter him from continuing his attacks is an “unusually high” punitive damages amount in addition to that amount.

“The law says you can consider Donald Trump’s wealth, as well as his malicious and spiteful continual conduct,” the lawyer said. Billions of dollars is just a drop in the bucket for Trump, Roberta Kaplan told the jury.

Trump’s attorneys will begin their closing argument after a short recess.

E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan emphasized to the jury that Trump claims to be very wealthy, with a brand worth $10 billion in additional to significant assets, as he said in a deposition clip they saw a day earlier at trial.

Kaplan knocked Trump for not showing up to the first trial last year where a jury had to consider whether he committed sexual assault but he showed up to this trial where more of his money is on the line.

“The one thing Donald Trump cares about is money,” Kaplan said.

“While Donald Trump may not care about the law, he certainly does not care about the truth — he does care about money,” she added. “As a result, your decision to award a large amount of punitive damages may be the only hope that Ms. Carroll has to ever be free from Donald Trump’s relentless attacks ever again.”

E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan told the jury that when they are considering punitive damages, they should determine “what it will take to get Donald Trump to stop.”

“We’re all human beings, and we’re all capable of understanding the pain and suffering Ms. Carroll has experienced,” Kaplan said. “In our view, the damage to Ms. Carroll’s sense of self — to her piece of mind — the feeling that we all have that we can go about our lives every day and not be suddenly attacked or raped or killed is very significant, so the dollar number to compensate for that has to be very large.”

Carroll’s attorney told jurors to consider what Trump had done.

“Twenty-five years after Donald Trump sexually assaulted her, Ms. Carroll came forward to tell her story,” Kaplan said. “In response, Donald Trump sought out to ruin her life. Wielding his position as president, he attacked her integrity and her honestly and not only denied the sexual assault, but he said that she made it up for money or fame or part of conspiracy.”

In closing arguments, E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan reviewed Donald Trump’s defamatory statements about Carroll that are at issue in this case, including when Trump said, “I’ll say it with great respect. She’s not my type.”

Trump’s comment was designed to humiliate Carroll, and it was a lie, Kaplan said.

“Ms. Carroll must’ve been lying, because she was too ugly or too unattractive for Donald Trump to assault,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan played the clip from Trump’s October 2022 deposition when he mistook Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples. The mistake by Trump confirms Carroll “was definitely his type,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan moved on to tell the jury how they should approach quantifying the damages they should award Carroll.

Carroll’s attorney recapped testimony from Professor Ashlee Humphreys, who testified as an expert witness, and her report calculating the reputational harm to Carroll measured through social media, internet and television metrics. Kaplan said it would take at least $12 million to execute a reputational repair campaign because Carroll has a national reputation and Trump has a global audience.

Before Donald Trump left the courtroom, E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan began her closing argument by saying she’s going to instruct the jury on the key points of the evidence and what they must do to compensate Carroll for damages.

“However unusual a case against a former president may seem,” Carroll’s lawyer told the jury, they must “stick to the facts, to the evidence and to the law.” Kaplan reminded the jury they are to accept the verdict found by an earlier jury last year that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll and then defamed her in statements when she came forward with her allegations.

“The sexual assault happened — and Donald Trump’s denials and viscous accusations against her were all complete lies,” she added.

She also said this jury’s verdict is also meant to punish him.

“This case is also about punishing Donald Trump for what he has done and what he continues to do. Punishing him for the malicious nature of his attacks,” Kaplan said. “And his continuing attacks right up to and during this very trial.”Kaplan said that Trump tries to “normalize conduct that could hardly be more abnormal.”

“Typically, when someone is found liable for defamation, they stop making those statements, even if they don’t like the jury’s verdict,” Carroll’s lawyer said. “Even if you don’t like the jury’s decision, you follow it. Those are the rules.”

“This trial is also about something much more profound,” Kaplan continued. “Whether the rules that apply to everyone else — to you, to me, to Ms. Carroll — whether they also apply to Donald Trump.”

Former President Donald Trump left the courtroom shortly after E. Jean Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan began delivering her closing argument in the defamation trial.

It’s not clear why Trump left the courtroom.

When Trump walked out, Kaplan was in the middle of telling the jury that Trump did not respect the prior jury verdict. “Not even for 24 hours,” she said.

After Trump left, Judge Lewis Kaplan — who is not related to the attorney — briefly interrupted Roberta Kaplan to say, “The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom.”

The judge then admonished the defense, again telling them they must remain seated. He specifically said that includes Boris Epshteyn, who walked out with Trump and just returned to the courtroom without him.

Closing arguments have begun in E. Jean Carroll’s civil defamation trial against former President Donald Trump.

Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan is presenting first.

Both sides indicated in court Thursday they will take about one hour to present their closings.

The federal jury will determine what damages, if any, Trump owes her for his 2019 defamatory statements about her sexual assault allegations.

Before the jurors entered the courtroom for closing arguments, Judge Lewis Kaplan cautioned all the parties that no one in court is to say anything except opposing counsel if there’s an objection.

He made the warning after former President Donald Trump’s audible commentary to his attorneys became an issue last week during E. Jean Carroll’s testimony and yesterday before Trump testified.

“And when I charge the jury later — that rule applies to everyone in the courtroom, including counsel,” he added.

Trump attorney Alina Habba then tried to make a record to refute a ruling that the defense cannot use a slide they planned in their closing presentation. Kaplan just cut her off and said: “You are on the verge of spending some time in the lock up, now sit down.”

Donald Trump’s motorcade has arrived at federal civil court in Manhattan, where he is expected to attend a defamation trial.

The trial is expected to get underway at 9:30 a.m. ET with closing arguments.

Donald Trump returned to a Manhattan federal courthouse on Thursday where he took the stand for what was ultimately less than five minutes — including multiple admonishments from Judge Lewis Kaplan — as he seeks to avoid a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against him in the civil defamation trial.

The trial centers on Trump’s 2019 comments about E. Jean Carroll, the writer who last year won a civil verdict over her claim Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when she first publicly accused him. Carroll is seeking at least $10 million.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning and the jury of nine could have the case by lunchtime.

Here’s what to know from Thursday:

Donald Trump’s motorcade has departed Trump Tower and is now en route to federal civil court so the former president can attend his civil defamation trial. The trial is expected to get underway at 9:30 a.m. ET with closing arguments.

Trump briefly testified Thursday in his defense, saying he did not instruct anyone to harm E. Jean Carroll and that he wanted to defend himself, his family and the presidency.

A jury will determine what damages, if any, Trump owes Carroll for his 2019 defamatory statements about her sexual assault allegations.

The next courtroom drama for Donald Trump comes in less than two weeks, when the US Supreme Court hears his arguments for why he should remain on the presidential ballot in Colorado and elsewhere.

CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic writes this morning about how the Republican and conservative legal world is backing Trump, whose lead lawyer designed the Texas six-week abortion ban that directly led to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Trump should be disqualified from the state ballot for his role in the attack on the US Capitol based on the insurrection clause in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

Read more here.

E. Jean Carroll has arrived at the civil federal court in Manhattan where a jury will determine what damages, if any, former President Donald Trump owes her for his 2019 defamatory statements about her sexual assault allegations.

About today: Both sides have rested their cases. The jury is expected to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations Friday. Court resumes at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Carroll’s team will present their closing arguments first.

Both sides said in court Thursday they would take about one hour for their closings.

Former President Donald Trump is expected back in court in New York Friday for the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, according to a source familiar with his plans. 

Trump briefly testified for roughly three minutes in his civil defamation trial Thursday.

Both sides will present closing arguments before the jury starts its deliberations. Jurors will determine how much the former president will have to pay Carroll in damages. She is seeking more than $10 million.

Closing arguments in the E. Jean Carroll defamation damages trial against Donald Trump are expected to begin on Friday. After that, the jury will determine how much money, if any, the former president must pay Carroll.

To be awarded money, Carroll has to prove that she is entitled to damages by a preponderance of the evidence, a standard used in civil cases that’s lower than what’s required in criminal trials.

That evidence standard was used in Carroll’s civil defamation case last year, in which a jury found that Carroll proved Trump had sexually abused and defamed her by a preponderance of the evidence, but that she did not prove Trump had raped her, as that crime is narrowly defined by New York’s criminal laws. Trump has appealed the verdict.

Carroll’s case last year, in which she was awarded $5 million for battery and defamation, focused on comments Trump made about Carroll in 2022. The current case is about Trump’s statements when he was president in 2019. Carroll is seeking over $10 million in damages.

After the jury was sworn in, Judge Lewis Kaplan compared the preponderance standard in the case to a scale.

“What a preponderance of the evidence means is that the plaintiff has to produce evidence which, considered in light of all of the facts, leads you to believe that what the plaintiff claims is more likely correct or true than not,” Kaplan said.
“To put it differently, if you were to put the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s evidence on opposite sides of metaphorical scales, the plaintiff has the burden to make the scales tip, even if only slightly, in the plaintiff’s favor,” the judge continued. “If they tip slightly for the plaintiff or heavily for the plaintiff, then the plaintiff has prevailed by a preponderance of the evidence. If they tip even slightly for the defendant or heavily for the defendant, then the defendant prevails on that issue.”