Trump’s petition for reconsideration of the $5 million verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case has been distributed to the Supreme Court justices, opening the possibility that the court will act on the request when it issues its next set of summer orders on Aug. 17.
Background of the civil case
Carroll filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court in 2022, alleging that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a department‑store dressing room in 1996 and later defamed her when she publicly recounted the incident. A jury found in her favor and awarded $5 million in damages. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed that verdict.
Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court, lodged last fall, argued that Carroll’s counsel should not have been permitted to present testimony from other women who accused him of assault, nor the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape in which he boasted about grabbing women’s genitals. Carroll’s brief countered that even without that evidence the jury would have likely reached the same conclusion because the remainder of her case was compelling.
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Supreme Court procedural history
The petition for review was first circulated for the Court’s Feb. 20, 2026 conference, but it was repeatedly postponed. The justices finally considered it at the June 25 conference and denied the request on June 29. Trump filed a petition for rehearing on July 8, which has now been sent to the justices for the upcoming August orders.
The Court has not granted a petition to reconsider a denial of review since 2018, making this request notable in its rarity. If the justices decide to entertain the petition, it would be the first time in eight years that a party has received a second look at a denied petition for review.
Given the Court’s limited docket this summer, the timing suggests the justices may address the petition alongside other pending matters. The August 17 orders could either affirm the June denial or set a new hearing date, though no indication has been provided about the likelihood of either outcome.
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Potential implications
Should the Court grant reconsideration, the case could return to the high court for a substantive review of the evidentiary rulings that Trump contested. That would place the dispute over the admissibility of other women’s testimony and the “Access Hollywood” tape squarely before the nation’s top judges.
Conversely, a second denial would reaffirm the lower courts’ handling of the civil suit and likely close the legal avenue for Trump to challenge the $5 million award. The outcome may also influence how future defamation and sexual‑assault claims are treated at the appellate level.
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