In a very widely publicized trial, E. Jean Carroll, an American journalist and famous writer, won a lawsuit against Donald Trump, who now has to pay $83.3 million in reparations to her. The decision was made on January 26, 2024, after a two-trial process that spanned months. E. Jean Carroll is notable for being one of the lead voices of feminist writing. In 2019, she published her memoir What Do We Need Men For? which included the first mention that Donald Trump had raped her. Donald Trump, at the time of publishing, was president and held a lot of power. Because of this, Carroll faced a lot of discrimination, and the newspaper she was writing for at the time, Elle, fired her. Investigations done in late 2019 brought new evidence into the case.

In early 2023, the first trial commenced. The jury found him to be guilty of sexual abuse but not of rape; they stated that Carroll didn’t have sufficient evidence to prove it. Nevertheless, Carroll was awarded $5 million for the whole ordeal. Then, in early 2024, the second trial started. This one was based on defamation that Trump had done towards Carroll during his presidential term. Trump showed up this time, but did not seem to take the case seriously. At one point, the judge threatened to throw him out. Finally, the verdict was in. E. Jean Carroll was to be paid a whopping $83.3 million. Junior Emma Weibel thinks that that amount of money is “absolutely representative of the case…[it’s] representative of what happened when Trump defamed her just for telling the truth.” 

This case means a lot for the future of similar trials. It proves that, in a time where women are sometimes not taken seriously, an entire jury can still take the side of the victim against powerful people. Weibel says, “we are creating a system that is more just, is more fair, for women or anyone who deals with these types of power imbalances.” In terms of what it means for the future, she says, “I’m very happy that young people, and others, around the world are seeing a man with immense power being held accountable for the law.”