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The United States Supreme Court has turned down former President Donald Trump’s appeal against the $5 million judgment in favor of E. Jean Carroll, effectively concluding litigation around a high-profile case involving allegations of sexual abuse and defamation. The court’s decision came through a brief order without explanation, a standard procedure in many such denials.
At the heart of the case is a jury’s 2023 verdict which found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defaming her when he denied the accusations in 2022. The jury awarded Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, $5 million in damages. Carroll’s legal action took advantage of the New York Adult Survivors Act, a state law that temporarily allows civil claims past their typical statute limitations reported here.
Trump’s legal team contended that the trial was marred by “highly inflammatory” evidence, including testimonies from other women who accused Trump of similar assaults and the notorious 2005 Access Hollywood tape. However, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the verdict, and no Supreme Court justices dissented from the denial to review the case.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, emphasized the significance of this closure, stating that the verdict’s affirmation by the highest court marks the end of Trump’s attempts to shirk accountability. In his response, Trump expressed his ongoing dissatisfaction with the process, calling the case a “weaponization” and reiterating his intent to continue his fight through all available avenues.
In a related matter, Carroll had previously been awarded $83.3 million in a separate defamation trial concerning statements made by Trump during his presidency, a decision also upheld by the Second Circuit. Trump is currently seeking another chance for Supreme Court review in that case as legal challenges have persisted through multiple avenues as discussed here.
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