美国国家公共电台 NPR Jury Rules In Favor Of Taylor Swift In Groping Lawsuit

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

A jury has ruled in favor of pop superstar Taylor Swift in a high-profile case in Denver. A radio DJ sued Taylor Swift, her mother and her manager for falsely accusing him of assault and getting him fired from his job. Swift countersued for a dollar, saying the DJ put his hand up her skirt and groped her during a photo op. The case got attention from advocates of survivors² of sexual assault, who are praising Swift's frank and unapologetic stand. A language warning here for listeners as we recount some of that testimony³.

NPR's Leila Fadel is outside the court and joins us now from Denver. And, Leila, this seems like a pretty quick verdict from this jury. Remind us the details of this case.

LEILA FADEL, BYLINE⁴: Well, David Mueller, a radio disc jockey here in Denver, was suing Taylor Swift, her mother and her manager for radio, Frank Bell, saying that he was falsely accused of groping Swift, and he lost his job over that. Taylor Swift was dismissed from the case as a defendant⁵ on Friday. The judge said there was insufficient⁶ evidence that she acted improperly⁷ when making that accusation⁸.

So today he lost his case with defendants⁹ being her mother and her manager. He was suing for $2.98 million in damages. Meanwhile, the countersuit by Taylor Swift in which she sued Mueller for just $1 for assault and battery, the jury found that she was in fact assaulted and she suffered battery. And she got that $1.

CORNISH: Now, Taylor Swift did take the stand last week. Her testimony was widely recounted in the press. Talk about what she had to say and why it resonated.

FADEL: Yeah, you know, her cross-examination really got the attention of advocates for survivors of sexual assault. And they said that it got their attention because she was unapologetic. She was consistent. And she really refused to be shamed, even at one point looking at the lawyer and said, I'm going to - I refuse to make this about me, that this is not my fault.

You know, she had some pretty strong language during her cross-examination. When it was suggested that Mueller might have touched her somewhere else unintentionally by his lawyer, she said, no, he did not touch my rib¹⁰. He did not touch my hand. He touched my bare ass¹. Now, that's a direct quote. And she used that word several times in court.

In another instance, Mueller's lawyer asked why she wasn't critical of her bodyguard¹¹ for not keeping Mueller away from her. And her answer again was, I'm critical of your client for sticking his hand up my skirt. And that is what advocates looked at, saying she was really refusing to be shamed in court where victims, they say, are often retraumatized.

CORNISH: At the same time, I know that the DJ suing Taylor Swift, the defense¹², talked about her not reporting this to police.

FADEL: You know, two-thirds of sexual assaults are not reported to police according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. And this was kept quiet. This happened in 2013. A 51-year-old man allegedly groped her under her skirt when she was 23. And he was quietly fired. And that's why he sued. This came into the limelight because David Mueller sued. And her mother on the stand last week cried about that. She said that she had wanted to not revictimize her daughter.

And that is also a mainstay of the case and what the lawyer said who is representing Taylor Swift, saying that she was being revictimized. And just now after the verdict, he said that today something good happened, that the dollar that she countersued for was symbolic¹³ of all victims who have not been able to speak out.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Leila Fadel reporting on the case from Denver. Leila, thank you.

FADEL: Thank you.

1 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

6 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

7 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

8 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

11 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。