Trump petition for reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision to leave intact the 2023 civil verdict against him in E. Jean Carroll’s case has been circulated to the justices, meaning the court could act when its next batch of summer orders is released on Monday, Aug. 17.
Trump petition for reconsideration reaches justices
According to the court’s docket activity, the filing was distributed three days after the justices issued their first set of summer orders. Distribution places the request in line for action on the next orders list.
Background on the Carroll litigation
Carroll brought the underlying suit in federal court in New York in 2022. She alleged that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996 and later defamed her in 2022 after she made the allegation public. A jury awarded Carroll $5 million, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed the verdict.
Trump’s arguments at the Supreme Court
Trump petitioned the Supreme Court last fall, contending that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to hear testimony from other women who said Trump had assaulted them, as well as the 2005 Access Hollywood recording in which he discussed grabbing women by their genitals.
In a filing urging denial, Carroll’s legal team argued that even if that evidence had been excluded, the remaining proof at trial was sufficient, so the outcome would have been the same.
Procedural path to rehearing
Trump’s initial petition for review was first distributed for the justices’ Feb. 20, 2026, conference, then repeatedly rescheduled. The court considered it at the June 25 conference and denied review on June 29.
Trump submitted his petition for rehearing on July 8, and it has now been distributed for potential consideration with the Aug. 17 summer orders.
Rehearing is rarely granted
The justices have not granted a request to reconsider a denial of review since 2018. Such rehearing petitions are seldom successful.
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