New York's top court rejected on Thursday Donald Trump's request to halt the president-elect's sentencing for his conviction on criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, with a decision on a possible delay now in the hands of the U.

New York’s Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, refused to stop Trump’s sentencing Thursday morning, as the president-elect went to the court after both Merchan and a New York appeals judge declined to pause it while Trump appeals two orders Merchan issued upholding the guilty verdict.

Hours before the petition was filed, the president-elect spoke on the phone with Samuel Alito, who clarified that the impending appeal was not mentioned during the call.