The Supreme Court has once again turned down former President Donald Trump’s request to dismiss a jury’s decision that required him to pay $5 million in damages. The jury found him guilty of sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in a New York department store during the mid-1990s and later defaming her. Trump’s legal team had urged the justices to revisit their previous decision to not hear his appeal, but the court denied this plea alongside several other petitions. While the court can occasionally grant such requests, it is rare.
After the court’s refusal to consider his appeal in June, Trump promptly paid the judgment. Meanwhile, both Trump and the Justice Department have appealed another verdict in which a jury awarded Carroll $83 million, arguing that Trump should be immune from lawsuits over comments he made about Carroll in 2019 when he was president. The Supreme Court has not yet made a decision regarding this second appeal.
E. Jean Carroll, a well-known advice columnist and former TV talk show host, testified during the 2023 trial. She recounted how her friendly encounter with Trump in the 1990s turned into a violent attack in the Bergdorf Goodman dressing room, a luxury store opposite Trump Tower in Manhattan. The jury held Trump liable for defaming Carroll when he publicly denied her accusations in 2022. Despite the verdicts, Trump continues to deny any misconduct.
It’s important to note that the Associated Press generally does not disclose the identities of individuals alleging sexual assault unless they have publicly revealed their identity, as Carroll has done in this case.
Leave a Reply