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Carroll verdict stands
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday again rejected President Donald Trump’s request to reconsider its refusal to hear his appeal of a $5-million US verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist.
“declined on Monday to hear his appeal of a $5-million US verdict”
The justices declined to take up the appeal in an unsigned order that came with no explanation, and the court’s order listed the petition under “rehearings denied.”
CBC reported the Supreme Court rejected Trump for a second time, leaving intact the $5-million US judgment after the 2023 jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her.
The Guardian said the decision “leaves intact the $5m civil judgment against Trump,” returned by the jury after the two-week trial in 2023.
Kaplan calls it final
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said she was “pleased that the United States supreme court has declined again to hear this case,” adding that the jury’s unanimous verdict is “now final and cannot be challenged in any court.”
The Guardian also reported that the Supreme Court announced the decision in an unsigned order on Monday, without providing an explanation, and that the order just listed Trump’s petition under “rehearings denied.”
AP News said the Supreme Court denied Trump’s petition along with several others, and noted that Trump paid the judgment shortly after the court declined to take up his appeal in June.
NBC News reported that the Supreme Court declined for a second time to take up Trump’s bid to overturn the jury verdict awarding $5 million to Carroll, and said the court almost never grants such requests.
Bigger $83.3m case pending
The Supreme Court’s Monday action did not resolve Trump’s separate legal battle over Carroll’s larger $83.3-million US defamation judgment, which the justices were still weighing whether to take up.
“The justices also are weighing the Republican president's appeal of a separate $83.3-million US jury verdict”
CBC said Trump’s lawyers argued presidential immunity shields him from Carroll’s claims in the $83.3-million US case, and that the Supreme Court was weighing that appeal.
The Guardian reported that Trump and his lawyers are appealing the $83.3m jury award, and said that according to NBC News the court is not set to act on that appeal until later this year.
SCOTUSblog said the justices are likely to consider Trump’s second petition for review in the fall, while also noting that the $5 million (plus interest) had been paid to Carroll after the Supreme Court’s earlier denial.
