US Supreme Court Rejects Donald Trump’s Appeal in E. Jean Carroll Civil Abuse and Defamation Case
The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear President Donald Trump’s appeal against a $5 million civil judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll. The decision, announced on Monday, effectively leaves the lower court’s ruling intact and brings an end to Trump’s legal challenge in the case at the nation’s highest court.
The Supreme Court denied Trump’s petition for a writ of certiorari without providing any explanation, which is standard practice. By refusing to take up the appeal, the Court did not rule on the merits of the case or express agreement with the lower court’s decision. Instead, it simply chose not to review the case, making the earlier judgment final.
The lawsuit stems from allegations made by E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her inside a department store in Manhattan during the mid-1990s. Carroll also claimed that Trump later defamed her by publicly denying her allegations and attacking her credibility after she came forward with her story.
In May 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and for defaming her. Although the jury did not find him liable for rape under the specific legal definition presented in the case, it concluded that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and subsequently damaged her reputation through defamatory statements. As a result, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The case was a civil lawsuit rather than a criminal prosecution. In civil cases, the court determines whether a defendant is legally responsible for causing harm and may order financial compensation. Unlike criminal cases, civil proceedings do not result in prison sentences.
Trump had asked the Supreme Court to overturn the verdict, arguing that legal errors during the trial affected the outcome. However, with the Supreme Court refusing to hear the appeal, the original judgment remains in full effect.
Carroll has also pursued a separate defamation lawsuit against Trump over comments he made in 2019 while serving as president. In that case, another federal jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages after concluding that his repeated public statements falsely attacked her credibility and caused significant harm to her reputation.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump strongly criticized the ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social. He described the lawsuit as a “fake case” and vowed to continue fighting what he called the “weaponisation” of the legal system and “lawfare” against him.
Trump insisted that he had never met Carroll and maintained that the lawsuit was politically motivated. He also argued that New York State had created a law specifically designed to target him, calling it an injustice that, in his view, should never be used against any current or future president or political candidate.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal marks another legal setback for Trump, while leaving intact the jury’s finding that he is liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. It also means that the $5 million judgment against him remains legally enforceable.
