The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by former President Donald Trump to overturn a jury's finding that he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and later defamed her. The high court declined to consider the case in a brief, unexplained order.
Trump's legal team had argued that evidentiary rulings in the 2023 trial, including the admission of testimony from two other women who accused Trump of sexual abuse, were improper and contributed to the $5 million verdict. Trump has denied all allegations from the three women.
E. Jean Carroll arrives at Manhattan federal court in 2023.
His attorneys contended that the judge overseeing the case applied federal evidence rules incorrectly and that the proceedings were a distraction from Trump's presidential duties, although the verdict preceded his return to the White House. Trump has since nominated one of his attorneys in the case, Justin D. Smith, to an appeals court judgeship.
The Supreme Court's decision comes as it prepares to issue rulings on significant cases impacting Trump's agenda. Trump has previously expressed public frustration with unfavorable Supreme Court decisions, including sharp criticism of the majority when it invalidated global tariffs he had imposed using emergency powers.
Carroll's lawyers had urged the justices to reject the appeal. They argued that the testimony from the other accusers was relevant due to similarities in their allegations and that the judge's rulings aligned with practices in other jurisdictions. Roberta Kaplan, one of Carroll's attorneys, stated that the matter did not warrant Supreme Court review.
Carroll, an advice columnist and former television host, testified that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in 1996. A jury found Trump liable for defamation when he denied her accusation in 2022. Subsequently, another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in a separate defamation trial, a ruling Trump is also appealing but which is not yet before the Supreme Court.
Trump has had other significant financial judgments overturned or modified. A New York appeals court, for instance, dismissed a civil fraud penalty exceeding $500 million. Earlier in 2024, the Supreme Court granted Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution, though it later narrowly rejected his attempt to halt sentencing in a New York hush-money case.