SC Supreme Court declines Trump Carroll case

What's happened

The Supreme Court has declined to hear Donald Trump’s appeal of a 2023 verdict awarding E. Jean Carroll $5 million for sexual abuse and defamation, with the court offering no explanation. The ruling leaves in place the jury verdict and continues litigation over an additional $83.3 million defamation award in a separate case.

What's behind the headline?

Analysis

• The Supreme Court’s non-explanation order signals a low likelihood of a broader shift in defamation standards for public figures, at least in this cluster of cases. It preserves the existing damages framework and underscores the judiciary’s reluctance to engage in high-profile defamation disputes through emergency orders.
• The decision solidifies Carroll’s legal victory while continuing to drag Trump’s litigation through separate avenues, potentially maintaining public attention on the broader allegations and the 2022-23 cycle of rulings.
• Readers should watch for developments in the separate $83.3 million defamation award appeal, which could alter total exposure depending on adjudication outcomes in federal appeals courts.
• The coverage channels emphasize the political dimension, but the core remains: a jury found defamation and sexual abuse against Trump, and higher courts are declining to revisit those findings. These rulings will likely influence public perception of accountability for public figures.

Forecast: Legal proceedings around the separate damages award will likely proceed, with new filings or motions shaping timing, though a reversal appears unlikely in the near term.

How we got here

The case stems from Carroll’s 2019 allegation that Trump assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. A 2023 jury found Trump liable for defaming Carroll in relation to her sexual-abuse claim and awarded her $5 million; Trump is appealing both verdicts in different courts, while an additional $83.3 million defamation award is under review.

Our analysis

- Independent: quotes Trump’s post calling the case a weaponization and lawfare; Roberta Kaplan for Carroll notes the jury’s verdict is upheld. - CNBC/Reuters: summarize the Supreme Court’s non-action and the two related verdicts in Carroll’s favor; Kaplan’s comments are highlighted. - AP News: notes the dissent in one of the justices and the brief order nature of the decision.

Go deeper

• What happens next for the $83.3 million defamation award?
• Will this ruling influence future defamation standards for presidents or candidates?

More on these topics

• E. Jean Carroll - American journalist (born 1943)

  Elizabeth Jean Carroll (born December 12, 1943) is an American journalist, author, and advice columnist. Her "Ask E. Jean" column appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019, becoming one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing..

• Bergdorf Goodman - Department store company

  Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman.

• United States - Country in North America

  The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.

• Truth Social - Social networking service created by Trump Media & Technology Group

  Truth Social is a proposed social media platform planned to be launched by Trump Media & Technology Group. It is planned to have a limited launch on Apple's App Store in November 2021, and a full public launch in 2022.

• Roberta A. Kaplan - American lawyer

  Roberta A. "Robbie" Kaplan is an American lawyer focusing on commercial litigation and public interest matters. She co-founded the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund and is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia University Law School.

• CNN - Television channel

  CNN is an American news-based pay television channel owned by CNN Worldwide, a unit of the WarnerMedia News & Sports division of AT&T's WarnerMedia.

• Manhattan - New York City borough

  Manhattan, often referred to by residents of the New York City area as the City, is the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City, and coextensive with the County of New York, one of the original counties of the U.S. state of New York.

• New York - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  New York most commonly refers to: New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to:

• Supreme Court - Court

  The supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high court of appeal.