Supreme Court lets $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict stand
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a $5 million civil verdict against Donald Trump, declining to hear his appeal in the sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. The brief, unexplained order ends Trump's last route to overturn the 2023 jury finding that he attacked her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s and later defamed her.
Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, has pursued Trump in court for years. Monday's decision is a major setback for the president, who argued the trial was tainted by inflammatory evidence. For Carroll's legal team, it closes the book on one of two high-profile verdicts against Trump.
Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court denied Trump's petition without explanation, as is typical for such orders.
- A 2023 jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her, awarding $5 million.
- Trump challenged evidence rulings involving the Access Hollywood tape and testimony from two other accusers.
- The ruling does not affect a separate $83.3 million defamation verdict Carroll won in 2024.
- Trump must now pay the $5 million judgment after exhausting his Supreme Court appeal.
What Did the Supreme Court Decide in the E. Jean Carroll Case?
On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a brief order declining to take up Trump's appeal, according to reporting from The New York Times and CNN. The denial means lower court rulings upholding the verdict remain in place.
Trump had asked the justices to intervene after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment. The Supreme Court was his final stop in that legal path, making Monday's decision effectively conclusive for this case.
Why Was Trump Ordered to Pay Carroll $5 Million?
The damages stem from a May 2023 civil trial in federal court in Manhattan. Carroll testified that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s, then defamed her in a 2022 Truth Social post denying her account.
The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which let Carroll sue despite expired statutes of limitations. Trump has consistently denied the allegations and called the proceedings unfair.
What Evidence Did Trump Challenge on Appeal?
Trump's lawyers argued the trial judge improperly allowed jurors to hear an excerpt from the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump described lewd behavior he later dismissed as locker room talk. They also objected to testimony from Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, two women who alleged separate assaults decades ago.
Appeals courts ruled the evidence was properly admitted. Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan argued Trump's petition did not challenge the Second Circuit's finding that any error would not have prejudiced him, the BBC reported.
Does Trump Still Face Other Carroll-Related Lawsuits?
Yes. Carroll won a separate defamation trial in 2024, with a jury awarding her $83.3 million over statements Trump made in 2019 denying her allegations. That judgment remains on appeal and has not yet reached the Supreme Court.
High-profile civil verdicts against public figures continue to draw intense scrutiny across our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries coverage, and Carroll's cases rank among the most consequential sexual misconduct suits involving a sitting U.S. president.