The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review President Donald Trump’s appeal of a $5 million civil verdict in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll, leaving in place a major legal defeat connected to her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit.
The decision was issued Monday in a brief order, with the justices offering no explanation and no noted dissents. The move means the nation’s highest court will not revisit the 2023 jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s and later defaming her.
Carroll, a former advice columnist, accused Trump of attacking her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman nearly three decades ago. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation and has said he never assaulted Carroll.
The 2023 verdict was a civil case, not a criminal conviction. That distinction is important. A civil jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation under the lower civil standard of proof. The jury did not find him liable for rape under New York’s legal definition at the time.
Still, the verdict was legally significant. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after finding that Trump sexually abused her and then defamed her in public statements after she came forward.
Trump’s legal team argued that the trial was unfair because the judge allowed jurors to hear evidence they said should not have been admitted. That evidence included testimony from other women who had accused Trump of misconduct and the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording. Trump’s lawyers said those materials unfairly influenced the jury.
Carroll’s lawyers defended the trial and argued that the evidence was properly admitted. Lower courts had already rejected Trump’s arguments, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict before Trump asked the Supreme Court to step in.
By refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court left the lower court rulings intact. The order does not mean the justices agreed with every part of the lower court reasoning. It simply means they chose not to take the appeal.
The decision is another important moment in the long-running legal battle between Trump and Carroll, who has brought two major civil cases against him.
In a separate defamation case, another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million over Trump’s statements denying her allegations and attacking her credibility. Trump has also challenged that verdict, making the Carroll litigation one of the most closely watched legal fights involving the president.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to review the $5 million verdict gives Carroll a major victory after years of litigation. Her legal team has argued that the jury heard the evidence, reached a lawful verdict, and that the case should finally come to an end.
For Trump, the decision adds to a complicated legal landscape. He has continued to deny Carroll’s claims and has criticized the verdicts against him. His supporters often frame the cases as politically motivated, while critics say the verdicts show accountability through the civil court system.
The case also remains politically sensitive because it involves a sitting president, allegations of sexual misconduct, and public statements made during Trump’s political career. That combination has kept the case in national headlines long after the original verdict.
The Supreme Court’s order came during a period when the justices have been handling several politically charged matters involving Trump and his administration. But in this case, the court did not write a full opinion or hold oral arguments. It simply declined to take the appeal.
Legal experts often note that the Supreme Court rejects most petitions it receives. However, because this case involved a former and current president, a major civil verdict, and questions about trial evidence, the denial attracted immediate national attention.
For Carroll, the decision helps preserve the legal finding that Trump is liable in the $5 million case. For Trump, it removes one possible path to overturning that verdict at the nation’s highest court.
The public reaction is likely to remain divided. Carroll’s supporters will view the Supreme Court’s refusal as another validation of her court victory. Trump’s supporters may continue to argue that the case was unfair and politically influenced.
But legally, the result is clear: the Supreme Court will not review the $5 million verdict.
The ruling does not end every related dispute between Trump and Carroll, especially because the separate $83.3 million defamation award remains part of the broader litigation picture. But it does close an important door in the first major Carroll verdict.
The case has become one of the most consequential civil lawsuits ever brought against a U.S. president. It raised questions about accountability, public speech, presidential power, and how courts handle decades-old sexual misconduct allegations.
Now, with the Supreme Court refusing to intervene, the $5 million judgment remains in place, and E. Jean Carroll has secured another major legal victory in her long-running battle against Donald Trump.
