Judge blocks some witness testimony in groping trial

Former Denver radio host says singer cost him job, ruined his life

Former radio host David Mueller, who is suing music star Taylor Swift, will likely not have to defend his masculinity in court next month.

U.S. District Judge William Martinez partially blocked the testimony of Swift’s expert witness, University of Colorado Boulder gender studies professor Lorraine Bayard De Volo, whose written report showed that she intended to testify that Mueller fit the profile of a man likely to sexually assault a woman because of perceived threats to his masculinity.

“Whether the jury finds, based on the testimony and other evidence, that (Mueller) did improperly touch Ms. Swift, or finds that he did not, the questions of what motivated him to do so, including any perceived threats to his purported status as a powerful male, will be beside the point,” Martínez wrote in a motion granting the exclusion.

Mueller is suing Swift, claiming that he lost his job and is banned from Swift concerts on false claims that he — then a 98.5KYGO host known as “Jackson” — reached under Swift’s skirt and groped her during a meet-and-greet before the singer’s Pepsi Center concert in 2013. Swift is countersuing Mueller on claims of assault and battery.

In a written report for the court, Bayard de Volo wrote that Mueller had accumulating threats to his status: First, perceived tension with his boss, threatening his job status. Second, he was sent on a tour with fans instead of radio executives, threatening his radio personality status. And third, Swift appeared excited to meet his girlfriend while Mueller may have felt invisible, threatening his masculinity.

Martinez wrote that Bayard de Volo’s testimony has significant risks of prejudice and could confuse or mislead the jury. By providing “profile evidence” in this way is inherently prejudicial because the jury must accept a potentially erroneous starting point to consider the evidence. Besides, the case is about what happened, not why, he wrote.

“Her testimony on this topic would also risk creating tangential and prejudicial disputes at trial, such as whether (Mueller) did or did not feel ‘threats to his masculinity,' ” Martinez wrote.

Bayard De Volo will still be in court, though, testifying that victims of sexual harassment and assault typically do not report the event immediately, which aligns with Swift’s account of the events. Bayard De Volo is the chair and associate professor of women and gender studies. She has a Ph.D. in political science and a graduate certification in women’s studies. She also has 20 years of teaching and research experience in the field of gender and violence.

Earlier this week, Martinez sanctioned Mueller for destroying multiple electronic devices containing key evidence in the case.

Swift’s and Mueller’s respective attorneys were in court for a pretrial hearing Friday, finalizing procedural details ahead of the trial set to start Aug. 7.

Judge Martinez asked if settlement was possible. Both attorneys said no.

“Looks like we’re going to have a trial,” Martinez said.