The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday again declined to take up former President Donald Trump's appeal of a 2023 jury verdict that found him liable for sexually assaulting and then defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, an unsigned order showed. The court provided no explanation; the petition was listed among those for which rehearing was denied.
Verdict finalized, judgment enforced
The court’s action leaves in place a civil judgment returned after a two-week trial in 2023. That jury award of $5 million was deposited by Trump into a court-controlled account, and Manhattan federal authorities later ordered its release. Carroll’s lawyers reported the funds, with interest, amounted to about $5.6 million and were disbursed to her in July.
"We are pleased that the United States Supreme Court has declined again to hear this case. As a result, the jury’s unanimous verdict that Donald Trump sexually assaulted and then defamed E. Jean Carroll is now final and cannot be challenged in any court."
The statement above came from Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who welcomed the court’s decision and described the verdict as final.
Appeals history and parallel cases
The case has moved through multiple stages of the federal judiciary. In 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan affirmed the jury’s liability finding. Trump sought Supreme Court review in 2025; the high court declined to take the case in June of this year, and Trump’s legal team then asked the justices to revisit that denial. The order issued Monday rejected that request.
Carroll also pursued a separate defamation lawsuit that resulted in a 2024 federal jury awarding her $83.3 million after concluding Trump had defamed her in 2019. Trump’s lawyers have appealed that award to the Supreme Court, and according to NBC News the high court is not expected to act on that appeal until later this year.
What the decision means going forward
The Supreme Court’s refusal to rehear the case means the 2023 jury verdict is now final in the Carroll matter addressed Monday. Practically, that closes one avenue of further review in this particular civil action and affirms the judgments that have been sustained through the appeals courts.
Key immediate effects include:
- Finalization of the 2023 civil verdict, removing the possibility of additional Supreme Court review in this petition.
- Affirmation of prior appellate rulings that had sustained the jury’s findings.
- Continuing litigation in the separate 2024 defamation award, which remains under appeal to the Supreme Court.
| Action | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 civil verdict (assault/defamation) | $5.0 million | Final; funds disbursed (~$5.6M with interest) |
| 2024 federal defamation verdict | $83.3 million | Under appeal to Supreme Court |
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Supreme Court’s latest action.
Legal observers note that the court often issues unsigned orders denying rehearing without explanation, and such denials can reflect a range of considerations including procedural posture, vehicle issues, or the justices’ view that the case does not present a question warranting plenary review. In this instance, the practical result is to leave the jury findings and the associated civil recovery intact.
The case remains part of a broader set of legal challenges involving the former president, some of which may still reach the high court. For now, however, E. Jean Carroll’s victory in the 2023 trial stands as final in the matter addressed by Monday’s order.
