Legally Established · Not an Allegation
A Federal Jury's Verdict
In May 2023, a unanimous jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. The judge later clarified this constituted rape by common definition. The appeals court upheld it.
Last updated November 3, 2026
Civil vs. criminal — the standard of proof
Civil trials require a preponderance of evidence (more likely than not). Criminal trials require proof beyond reasonable doubt. Trump was never criminally charged for this incident. However, a nine-person civil jury — after seeing Trump present no defense witnesses and refuse to testify — found him liable. A federal appeals court affirmed that finding.
Docket status
Two judgments, two Supreme Court dockets
Read October 10, 2026 from the Supreme Court docket pages, the Second Circuit orders, and the CourtListener docket for No. 1:20-cv-07311. A judgment that stands is not the same thing as a recorded payment.
Closed at the Supreme Court
$5 million
Second Circuit No. 23-793 affirmed the judgment on December 30, 2024. The Supreme Court docket lists the lower-court rehearing denial as June 13, 2025. Trump v. Carroll, No. 25-573, was docketed November 13, 2025.
- Petition filed November 10, 2025.
- Petition denied June 29, 2026.
- Rehearing denied August 17, 2026.
The docket shows no further proceedings after the rehearing denial.
Petition pending
$83.3 million
S.D.N.Y. No. 1:20-cv-07311. The judgment of February 8, 2024, awards $83,300,000. Second Circuit No. 24-644 affirmed that judgment on September 8, 2025, and denied rehearing en banc on April 29, 2026. Trump v. Carroll, No. 26-141, was docketed July 30, 2026.
- Petition filed July 28, 2026. The response was first due August 31, 2026.
- August 20, 2026: the motion to extend was granted. The time to respond was extended to and including October 30, 2026.
- October 15, 2026: Carroll applied (No. 26A527, and No. 26A528 in the government's companion petition, No. 26-142) to file one consolidated brief in opposition to both petitions, over the word limit.
- October 19, 2026: Justice Sotomayor granted the application. The consolidated brief in opposition may not exceed 13,500 words.
- October 30, 2026: Carroll submitted her brief in opposition (Nos. 26-141 and 26-142). Brief: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26-141/431408/20261030233742186_Brief%20in%20Opposition.pdf
- Pending on the docket as read November 3, 2026.
What the petition asks
- Whether Trump forfeited presidential immunity because his first answer did not name it, though he asserted his constitutional immunities and invoked presidential immunity by name later in the case.
- Whether a sitting President's White House denials of wrongdoing, made in answer to press questions, are official acts protected by immunity under Trump v. United States (2024).
- Whether the United States should have been substituted as the defendant under the Westfall Act after the Attorney General re-certified that Trump acted within the scope of his office.
Companion petition — United States v. Carroll, No. 26-142
The United States filed a separate petition on July 28, 2026. It asks whether the Second Circuit misread the Westfall Act when it rejected the Attorney General's certification that Trump's statements about Carroll fell within the scope of his office, which would make the United States the defendant instead of Trump.
Attorney General Barr certified those statements in September 2020. Attorney General Garland withdrew the certification in 2023, before trial, so the case was tried against Trump personally. After the verdict, in April 2025, Attorney General Bondi recertified and moved to substitute the United States. The Second Circuit denied that motion on June 18, 2025, explained in an August 8, 2025 opinion, holding that the post-trial recertification was barred. Carroll's brief in opposition was submitted on this docket on October 30, 2026.
Bond and stay — $83.3 million judgment only
On March 12, 2024, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan approved an amended supersedeas bond of $91,630,000 and stayed execution of the damages judgment pending final disposition of the appeal in the Second Circuit. The order is on the CourtListener docket for No. 1:20-cv-07311.
On May 11, 2026, the Second Circuit granted a stay of its mandate pending filing and disposition of a petition for certiorari. The stay is conditioned on an increase of the bond by $7,462,492.74 within 21 days, with notice to the court within five calendar days after the increase. Carroll did not oppose the motion on that condition.
The entries read for this update do not show that the bond was increased, and they do not show a payment to E. Jean Carroll. This page does not treat a bond, or a stay, as payment.
Second Circuit order, May 11, 2026 (No. 24-644)Last verified: November 3, 2026
Judicial Findings
What the judge said
These are direct quotes from official court orders — not media summaries.
“The proof convincingly established, and the jury implicitly found, that Mr. Trump deliberately and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carroll's vagina with his fingers.”
From the July 2023 order denying Trump's motion for a new trial. Judge Kaplan clarified that while New York's narrow statutory definition of rape requires penile penetration, the conduct the jury found constituted rape by any common definition of the word.
“Carroll's accusation of rape is substantially true.”
From the same order. The judge stated that while the jury used the word 'sexual abuse' on its verdict form rather than 'rape,' this was because of New York's narrow penal code definition — not because the act did not constitute rape by its ordinary meaning.
Trial Evidence
Evidence presented to the jury
Two friends testified Carroll told them about the attack immediately after it occurred
Two other women testified about similar assaults by Trump — pattern evidence admitted
The Access Hollywood tape admitted as evidence of Trump's own statements about sexual conduct
Trump's own deposition, in which he refused to answer key questions, admitted
Trump presented no defense witnesses
Trump did not testify in his own defense — jury permitted to draw adverse inference
The Defamation Case
Why there was a second trial
After the 2023 verdict, Trump continued making public statements about Carroll. A second jury evaluated them.
Following the 2023 verdict, Trump continued publicly calling Carroll a liar, a "nut job," and claiming she was "not his type." A second jury found these statements defamatory — because the assault had been proven to have occurred. The second jury awarded $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
$18.3M
Compensatory damages
$65M
Punitive damages
$83.3M
Total, Trial 2
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What Trump's defense presented
Trump presented zero defense witnesses
Trump did not testify in his own defense
Trump's attorneys argued Carroll 'was not his type' — later found defamatory
All post-trial motions were denied
The appeal was rejected in full (Dec 30, 2024)
Supreme Court denied certiorari in No. 25-573 (June 29, 2026) and denied rehearing (August 17, 2026)
Primary Sources
Court documents
All links go directly to official legal repositories (FindLaw, Justia).
Carroll v. Trump — Original Trial Jury Verdict
U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y.No. 22-cv-10016·May 9, 2023
"We, the jury, find for the plaintiff E. Jean Carroll on her claim of battery and find for the plaintiff on her claim of defamation."
Order Denying Motion for New Trial — Judge's Clarification on 'Rape'
U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. — Judge Lewis A. KaplanNo. 22-cv-10016·July 2023
"The proof convincingly established, and the jury implicitly found, that Mr. Trump deliberately and forcibly penetrated Ms. Carroll's vagina with his fingers."
Carroll v. Trump — Second Trial, $83.3M Defamation Verdict
U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y.No. 22-cv-10016·January 26, 2024
"The jury awarded $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages for Trump's post-presidency defamatory statements."
Carroll v. Trump — Appeals Court Affirms $5M Verdict
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second CircuitNo. 23-793·December 30, 2024
"For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED."
Trump v. Carroll — Certiorari and Rehearing Denied
Supreme Court of the United StatesNo. 25-573·June 29, 2026
"June 29, 2026: Petition DENIED. August 17, 2026: Rehearing DENIED. Lower court: Second Circuit No. 23-793, decided December 30, 2024."
Trump v. Carroll — Separate Cert Petition
Supreme Court of the United StatesNo. 26-141·July 28, 2026
"Petition for a writ of certiorari filed July 28, 2026 (Second Circuit No. 24-644). Docketed July 30, 2026. On August 20, 2026, the response time was extended to and including October 30, 2026. On October 30, 2026, E. Jean Carroll submitted her brief in opposition. The docket does not yet show the petition distributed for conference. Distinct from No. 25-573."
Carroll v. Trump — S.D.N.Y. docket, $83.3 million judgment
CourtListenerNo. 1:20-cv-07311·Last filing read: August 8, 2025
"District-court docket for the $83.3 million judgment. The March 12, 2024 order approved an amended supersedeas bond of $91,630,000 and stayed execution of the damages judgment pending the Second Circuit appeal."
Carroll v. Trump — Opinion affirming the $83.3 million judgment
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second CircuitNo. 24-644·September 8, 2025
"Argued June 24, 2025. Decided September 8, 2025. The panel affirmed the district-court judgment in No. 1:20-cv-07311."
Carroll v. Trump — Order denying rehearing en banc
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second CircuitNo. 24-644·April 29, 2026
"Order of April 29, 2026: after a poll, the petitions for rehearing en banc were denied. The appeal had been decided September 8, 2025."
Carroll v. Trump — Order staying the mandate
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second CircuitNo. 24-644·May 11, 2026
"The court granted a stay of the mandate pending a cert petition, on the condition that the bond be increased by $7,462,492.74 within 21 days. This archive has not confirmed a later entry showing that increase, or any payment."
Beyond the Documents
Further reading
Book-length reporting and first-person accounts that go deeper than any single document.
What Do We Need Men For?
E. Jean Carroll · 2019
The book in which Carroll first publicly described the assault a federal jury later found Trump liable for.
Find it at Bookshop.org
Confidence Man
Maggie Haberman · 2022
Decades of New York Times reporting on how Trump operates, from Queens to the White House.
Find it at Bookshop.org
Links go to Bookshop.org, which shares its sales with independent bookstores.