Alina Habba's 5 Worst Horror Show Moments in Court

Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba has been criticized for her performance in court on Wednesday during the defamation civil trial proceedings involving the former president and E. Jean Carroll.

Habba, who previously worked in real estate law before becoming part of Trump's legal team, was repeatedly condemned by the judge overseeing the case between Trump and the former Elle columnist for failing to follow basic judicial procedures.

At one point, Habba was sternly told by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to "sit down" as the pair argued in the court. She was also scolded for trying to introduce evidence that could not be overseen by the judge, or not properly submitted to the court.

Trump is being sued by Carroll over claims he defamed her character while denying that he sexually assaulted the writer at a Bergdorf Goodman store in New York in the 1990s, including suggesting she fabricated the attack to sell copies of her book. Trump has said the 2019 remarks he gave while president denying the assault took place are protected under absolute immunity.

The case in New York is separate from a previous sexual battery and defamation lawsuit filed by Carroll against Trump, which she won. In May 2023, a different jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll at the department store and defaming her character while denying the assault took place, and ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.

Below, Newsweek has compiled some of the key moments from Wednesday's proceedings where Habba appeared to struggle while defending the former president. Habba has been contacted for comment via email.

Failed To Properly Introduce Evidence

Habba attempted to question Carroll using evidence that had not been submitted to the court, which irked the judge.

Habba was asking Carroll about a 2019 post on X, formerly Twitter, calling the writer a "pathetic ugly old hag" soon after Carroll came forward with the rape claims against Trump. Habba was attempting to suggest that Carroll was already being attacked over her assault claims even before Trump's public statements denying the incident.

Carroll's lawyer then said the tweet was not submitted as evidence. Habba tried to explain she was submitting it into evidence by discussing it during proceedings.

"Guess what?" Kaplan said to Habba. "You may not read from a document that's not in evidence."

After calling for a break in proceedings, Kaplan told Habba that she should "refresh your memory about how it is you get a document into evidence."

Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House lawyer, said the evidence incident was "embarrassing" for Habba.

"She did a sort of minor league job of trying to introduce some evidence, and the judge was very patient with her," Cobb told CNN.

"He gave her sort of two recesses or two opportunities to try to guide her through it himself, called a halt, and took a break with the hope that one of her colleagues could help her figure out how to do what it was that she intended. It was really sort of embarrassing," Cobb added.

"That's not the type of lawyering that he [Kaplan] is used to seeing, and I'm sure that frustrates him."

Told To Stand Up by the Judge

The judge schooled Habba for violating basic rules after she did not stand while addressing the court.

"Ms. Habba, when you speak in this courtroom or any other courtroom, you'll stand up," Kaplan told Habba after she objected to one of Carroll's answers.

Many legal experts mocked Habba for this. "These are pretty basic things most lawyers kinda know," Ron Filipowski, an attorney and frequent Trump critic, posted on X.

Lawyer Adam Sommer added: "I spent a decade teaching pre law students trial practice. My college freshman students knew this. Habba is either truly crummy at this or they are trying to cause a scene. Either way, it's not good trial work."

Told To Sit Down by the Judge

On Wednesday, Habba requested an adjournment of proceedings so Trump could attend the funeral of his late mother-in-law Amalija Knavs, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Trump is under no obligation to attend any days of his civil trial, and the request to delay the proceedings was rejected by Kaplan.

"I will hear no further argument on it," Kaplan told Habba when she brought up the request again in court. When Habba continued to speak, the judge said: "None...Do you understand that word? Sit down."

Habba then responded, "I don't like to be spoken to that way, your honor," to which Kaplan replied: "It's denied. Sit down."

'We're Going To Do It My Way in This Courtroom'

Elsewhere, Kaplan also hit out at Habba as she cross-examined Carroll about the writer's 2022 pre-trial deposition without presenting a physical copy to the judge.

"I need a transcript to be able to work with this," Kaplan told Habba. The lawyer then informed Kaplan the documents were on the screen in the courtroom, while the rest of Trump's legal team tried to get a hard copy of the deposition, reported Business Insider.

"Now look, Ms Habba," Kaplan said. "We're going to do it my way in this courtroom, and that's all there is to it.

"Now you give me the page and line number you want me to focus on, without reading it, and then I'll look at it," he said. "And then I'll see if there's an objection or not, and then we'll see where we go from there."

'You Just Ignored the Ruling'

Ahead of the civil trial, Kaplan told Trump's legal team that they cannot try to argue to the jury that Trump did not sexually abuse Carroll, or suggest she may have fabricated her version of events, as it is irrelevant to the defamation case.

On Wednesday, Habba was stopped from asking about the "believability" of Trump's sexual assault on Carroll, even after she was informed she could not do so by the judge.

"The answer is stricken," Kaplan said. "The jury will disregard it. I ruled at that at the sidebar, and you just ignored the ruling."

Kaplan has already ruled that Trump defamed Carroll with his 2019 comments, and the proceedings in New York will mainly determine the size of the penalty against the former president. Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in damages.