E Jean Carroll appeal delayed again as Supreme Court skips Trump case
The Supreme Court did not consider Donald Trump’s appeal in E. Jean Carroll’s $5 million case at its private conference on Thursday, extending the delay for the 11th time. Carroll’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York in 2022, led to a jury verdict that a federal appeals court later upheld.
Trump Appeal to Carroll Verdict
Trump is asking the justices to review the verdict entered against him in Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation case. He asked the court to take up the case in November 2025 after the lower court ruling left the $5 million award in place.
Carroll contended that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996 and later defamed her in a 2022 social media post calling her accusations a “Hoax.” The jury sided with Carroll and awarded her $5 million.
Jan. 28 Conference Schedule
The court distributed the case on Jan. 28 for its Feb. 20 conference, then rescheduled it one day before that meeting. On Wednesday, the justices pushed Trump’s case back for the 11th time, and Thursday’s private conference passed without a vote on whether to hear it.
Trump has argued that Carroll’s lawyers should not have been allowed to introduce testimony from other women who also alleged that he assaulted them. He also argued that the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape should not have been allowed in the case.
Separate Carroll Defamation Case
The delay also comes as Trump has indicated he plans to ask the Supreme Court to review a separate defamation case involving Carroll. In that case, he is seeking to have the U.S. government take his place because he was president when he made the statements at issue.
For now, the $5 million verdict remains in place while the justices continue to leave Trump’s petition on hold. The next step is still the court’s decision on whether to grant review, and the repeated postponements have kept that question open into another conference cycle.
