Jury selection is expected to continue Tuesday morning in People of the State of New York v. Donald Trump, the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.
The quest to find a jury of 12 people and six alternates came as more than half of the 96 potential jurors called to a Manhattan courtroom said they could not be “fair and impartial” when it came to Trump. It was a slow start on Monday. , a polarizing New York native and former commander-in-chief.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is required to attend the trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn stars in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign. Low-level felonies carry a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
After Monday’s court, Trump complained that Judge Juan Machan would not allow him to miss court on May 17 to attend his son’s high school graduation; He said he hasn’t actually handed down the verdict yet and plans to do so later.
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche also weighed in on whether Trump could be granted immunity on April 25, when the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Trump’s presidential immunity arguments stemming from the federal election interference case against him. I asked. Marchan refuses the request after Blanche says, “You shouldn’t be here right now.”
“Don’t you think you should be here now?” the furious judge replied. “He needs to be here. He doesn’t need to be on the Supreme Court.”
The issue was among several raised by attorneys for both sides in court Monday, resulting in the jury selection process not starting until the afternoon. Mr. Marchand’s 42-question form included several questions about his own political affiliation and his views on Mr. Trump himself, but by the end of the court session, nine of the prospective jurors had answered questions. Only one person responded.
During part of Monday’s trial, Trump closed his eyes while Marchand read instructions to potential jurors, leading to speculation that he was asleep or just lost in thought. It spread.
The remaining jurors in the first group will continue to answer questions Tuesday morning, after which prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Mr. Trump’s lawyers will take additional questions.
Then move on to the next pool of 96 people. Marchan estimates this process will take him one to two weeks.
