Here are some accounts of the first day of the historic trial, as told by some of the participants.
“I don’t think I can be impartial.” (Prospective juror anonymously)
New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Machan, who is hearing the case, focused on how prospective jurors felt when selecting jurors.
Potential jurors were asked if they could not be fair or impartial in deciding the case. If they felt that way, they were quickly forgiven. However, in some cases, potential jurors took time to consider the issue before reaching that conclusion.
That’s what happened to one potential juror who showed up Friday morning and, after not getting any sleep, said he didn’t think he’d be able to be impartial after all. Martian apologized.
“I will not intimidate jurors in court.” (New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan)
It wasn’t until the second day of the trial that Mr. Marchand, who was listening to the trial, admonished Mr. Trump’s behavior in court.
In some of Trump’s recent cases, his conduct in court has clashed with other judges. When author E. Jean Carroll sued Trump for defamation, the judge hearing the case threatened to throw him out of the courtroom for not keeping quiet during her testimony. And during the civil fraud trial against Trump and his businesses, he clashed with another judge, who urged lawyers to “control their clients.”
Marchan’s warning in the case came during questioning of potential jurors on Tuesday. President Trump appeared to be reacting to potential jurors, something Marchand didn’t appreciate.
Marchand told Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, that while his client was nearby, he “heard him say something” and “was gesticulating and talking in the direction of the jury.” “There is,” he said.
“I will not allow that to happen,” Machan said.
“We oppose holding this trial during the election period.” (Todd Blanche, Trump attorney)
Lawyers in Mr. Trump’s various criminal cases have sought to delay proceedings as much as possible, and in some cases have been successful. They also tried to postpone this trial but were repeatedly refused.
In court Monday, Blanche reiterated the defense’s objections to the ongoing trial. Blanche’s argument: It is unfair that the trial should take place while Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is campaigning for the November election. The trial proceeded after his statement.
Later in the week, Marchan expressed frustration with Trump’s efforts to seek new rulings on issues that have already been decided. “It has to end,” Marchand told Trump’s lawyers Friday. “The time has come to accept my sentence.”
“I definitely feel anxious right now.” (Juror No. 2, now former)
There were some hiccups along the way in jury selection. Marchan said the names of potential jurors will be shared only with prosecutors and the defense and will not be made public.
However, the jury questionnaire included questions that could potentially identify individuals, such as their job and past and present employers. Some of the information was spread in some news reports and online.
The woman, who was selected as Juror No. 2 on Tuesday, came to the court Thursday morning after being contacted by friends, co-workers and relatives who were concerned about her connection to the trial.
“At this time, I do not believe that I can be fair and impartial and keep outside influences from influencing my decisions in court,” she said. She was excused from the jury.
“You should be allowed to speak.” (Former President Donald Trump)
On Friday morning, President Trump told reporters that the gag order that Marchand imposed on him in the case had stripped him of his “constitutional right to speak.”
Last month, Marchan imposed a gag order barring the former president from commenting publicly about witnesses in the case “with respect to their potential participation in investigations or criminal proceedings.” It also barred Trump from commenting on prospective jurors, court officials or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff. A judge later extended the injunction to also prevent Trump from commenting on Marchand and Bragg’s families after Trump publicly attacked Marchand’s daughter.
Prosecutors say Trump has repeatedly violated the gag order, but his lawyers dispute this. Marchand set a hearing for Tuesday morning to address the issue.
“We don’t think you’ve been living under a rock.” (Joshua Steinglass, prosecutor)
Jury selection for this case was expected to be difficult, given that it involved a defendant who was very prominent and many people had deeply held opinions about.
Steinglass, one of the prosecutors in the case, acknowledged that knowing about Trump is not enough to disqualify jurors during jury selection. Steinglass told potential jurors that the case “has nothing to do with your personal politics,” but that jurors should not let their beliefs influence their decisions. He said he was looking for.
Another prosecutor, Susan Hoffinger, also reminded potential jurors that this case is “not about who you’re going to vote for in the fall.”
“This is much more stressful than I expected.” (Prospective juror anonymous)
Much of the attention to this case has understandably been focused on the defendant.
But in the first week of the trial, court proceedings focused primarily on potential jurors, who were asked a series of questions about topics including their jobs, social media habits, news sources and feelings toward Trump. received.
Several potential jurors said there was a lot of tension during the jury selection process.
One of them fought back tears Friday, saying the pressure of the situation was overwhelming. Her voice broke while she spoke in court. Machan quickly forgave her.
Perry Stein in Washington, Shayna Jacobs, Devlin Barrett and Rachel Weiner in New York contributed to this report.
