Trump’s second appeal rejected: What Supreme Court decision means for E. Jean Carroll case

President Donald Trump has suffered another setback at the US Supreme Court in his long-running legal battle with writer E. Jean Carroll, with the justices refusing for a second time to take up his challenge to a $5 million civil verdict.

The Supreme Court's unsigned order on Monday came after Trump's lawyers asked the justices to reconsider their decision from June, when the court first declined to hear his appeal. The latest rejection leaves the 2023 jury verdict intact and closes another route Trump had pursued to overturn the judgment.

The ruling does not, however, resolve Trump's separate fight over an $83.3 million defamation judgment involving Carroll. That case remains pending before the Supreme Court and could bring another major legal decision involving Trump's claims of presidential immunity.

Supreme Court Rejects Trump Again

Trump's latest petition was an attempt to persuade the Supreme Court to revisit its earlier refusal to hear his appeal.

The justices declined to do so without providing an explanation. Such rehearing requests are rarely granted, making Monday's decision another significant hurdle for Trump in the $5 million case.

The case stems from statements Trump made in 2022, when he publicly dismissed Carroll's allegations as a “hoax” and a “con job.”

A Manhattan jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her. The jury did not find him liable for rape under the legal question presented to it, despite Carroll's allegation that Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

Trump has consistently denied Carroll's allegations and has argued that the legal proceedings against him were unfair.

Carroll Has Already Received More Than $5.6 Million

The Supreme Court's latest action comes after Carroll received the money awarded to her in the case.

Following the justices' June decision not to hear Trump's appeal, the judgment was released and Carroll collected nearly $5.63 million, representing the original $5 million award along with interest.

That means Monday's ruling does not simply preserve a verdict on paper. It leaves intact a judgment that has already been paid.

Trump's lawyers had sought to keep the legal challenge alive, arguing that issues raised in his other Carroll case could have consequences for the $5 million verdict as well.

The Supreme Court has now rejected that request for reconsideration.

Why Trump’s Other Carroll Case Matters

The latest decision should not be confused with Trump's separate appeal involving an $83.3 million jury award.

That judgment arose from Trump's public statements about Carroll in 2019, while he was president. A separate jury later awarded Carroll $83.3 million for defamation after Trump denied her allegations and accused her of lying.

Trump's lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to overturn that judgment, arguing that presidential immunity protects him from liability for statements he made while serving as president.

The Justice Department has also filed a petition seeking to overturn the $83.3 million award.

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will hear that appeal.

Presidential Immunity Is Now at the Centre of the Fight

Trump's immunity argument has gained importance because of the Supreme Court's landmark 2024 ruling concerning presidential immunity.

In that case, the justices ruled that former presidents have substantial immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts performed while in office. But the Carroll litigation involves civil lawsuits, creating a different legal question.

Trump's lawyers contend that presidential immunity should shield him from Carroll's claims connected to statements he made during his first presidency.

The $5 million case, however, involves statements Trump made in 2022, after he had left the White House. That distinction is one reason the two Carroll cases raise different legal questions.

Trump’s Legal Battle With Carroll Continues

Carroll first publicly accused Trump in 2019, saying he had sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. Trump denied the allegation and attacked her credibility.

The dispute eventually produced two separate civil cases and two major jury awards.

The first jury to hear the later case found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million. A second jury subsequently awarded her $83.3 million over Trump's earlier statements. Both verdicts have survived challenges in lower courts.

Monday's Supreme Court decision therefore represents a clear endpoint for Trump's latest effort to reopen the $5 million case, but not the end of his broader legal fight with Carroll.

What Happens Next?

For the $5 million verdict, Trump's options at the Supreme Court have now narrowed dramatically after two refusals to hear the case.

The more consequential question may now be what the justices do with the separate $83.3 million appeal.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear that case, the dispute could force the justices to examine how presidential immunity applies to civil claims involving statements made by a sitting president. Trump filed his appeal seeking to overturn the $83.3 million judgment in July.

For Carroll, meanwhile, Monday's decision preserves the first major judgment she won against Trump and confirms that the Supreme Court will not revisit that verdict.

The larger legal battle, however, remains unresolved — with the $83.3 million case now potentially becoming the next major chapter in Trump's years-long fight with Carroll.

(With Reuters inputs)