The US Supreme Court has once again declined to consider Donald Trump’s appeal of a 2023 jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing writer E Jean Carroll and later defaming her. The court announced its decision in an unsigned order on Monday, without providing an explanation.
This decision leaves intact the $5m civil judgment against Mr Trump, which was returned by the jury after a two-week trial in 2023. Roberta Kaplan, Ms Carroll’s attorney, stated that the jury’s unanimous verdict is now final and cannot be challenged in any court.
Mr Trump had deposited the $5m jury award, along with interest, into a court-held account. In July, after the Supreme Court first declined his appeal attempt, a Manhattan federal judge ordered the funds released, and Ms Carroll’s legal team confirmed that approximately $5.6m had been disbursed to her.
In 2024, a separate federal jury ordered Mr Trump to pay Ms Carroll $83.3m in damages in a different defamation suit. Mr Trump’s lawyers are appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court, which is reportedly not set to act on that appeal until later this year.