THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504130436
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Jurors who awarded $6.7 million to a former Navy lieutenant sexually assaulted at the 1991 Tailhook convention did not commit misconduct, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in refusing to order a new trial.
U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro rejected the Las Vegas Hilton's contention that one juror lied during jury selection and later discussed the case while the trial was under way.
The judge also rejected the Hilton's argument that two jurors were exposed to media accounts of the case during the trial.
Pro ruled that the violations, if they did occur, failed to cause the defendants ``actual prejudice.''
Lt. Paula Coughlin, the whistle-blower in the scandal, testified during the six-week trial that she was assaulted by a gantlet of aviators who trapped her in a third-floor hallway, grabbed her buttocks and breasts and reached up her skirt.
The Hilton tried to paint Coughlin as a willing participant in Tailhook's festivities and argued that their security officers couldn't have foreseen any attacks.
Pro reduced Coughlin's award to about $5.2 million on March 8.
Coughlin eventually left the Navy and is now living in Virginia Beach.
KEYWORDS: TAILHOOK RULING MISCONDUCT JURY by CNB