The first order of business in the Trump Organization trial: selecting a neutral jury
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The Donald Trump campaign’s criminal tax trial begins Monday, and the first task facing the court is a big one: picking a jury of New Yorkers who don’t have strong opinions about the former president. Manhattan prosecutors say the Trump Organization helped top executives avoid income taxes for work perks like free rent on apartments and luxury cars. Trump himself is not on trial and is not expected to testify. But the judge and lawyers in the case will likely try to keep people out of the jury if they have strong feelings about the Republican, who is disliked in his hometown. In the 2020 presidential election, 87% of Manhattan voters supported Democrat Joe Biden for president. Trump won 12% of the vote. After jury selection was completed, Judge Juan Manuel Mercan said he expected the trial to last at least four weeks. The trial is expected to focus on the actions and testimony of longtime Trump Organization executive Allen Weiselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to receiving more than $1.7 million in tax-free benefits from the company. Trump called the investigation a “political witch hunt.” The company’s lawyers said the company played by the rules. If found guilty, the Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million. A conviction can prevent a company from getting loans and doing deals. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg inherited a prosecution when he took office in January. Bragg has taken a cautious approach to Trump, so far declining to press charges against him personally in the three-year-old investigation. The jury selection process can take several days, especially if people in the pool express reservations about their ability to be neutral. However, a court’s impartiality can be critical to avoiding a mistrial. In the spring, another trial at a nearby federal courthouse ended in a mistrial because of tensions among jurors over political views. The case involved associates of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who were accused of defrauding a charity set up to pay for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border. In that case, eleven jurors sent a note to the judge asking them to dismiss another juror because that person showed anti-government bias and accused everyone else of being liberal. The judge refused, and the jury ultimately could not agree on a verdict.
NEW YORK –
Donald Trump’s campaign goes on trial in a criminal tax case on Monday, and the first task facing the court is a big one: picking a jury from New Yorkers who don’t have strong opinions about the former president.
Manhattan prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization helped top executives avoid income taxes on work perks like free rent on apartments and luxury cars.
Trump himself is not on trial and is not expected to testify. But the judge and lawyers in the case will likely try to keep people out of the jury if they have strong feelings about the Republican, who is disliked in his hometown.
In the 2020 presidential election, 87% of Manhattan voters supported Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Trump won 12% of the vote.
After jury selection was completed, Judge Juan Manuel Mercan said he expected the trial to last at least four weeks.
The trial is expected to focus on the actions and testimony of longtime Trump Organization executive Allen Weiselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to receiving more than $1.7 million in tax-free benefits from the company.
Trump called the investigation a “political witch hunt.” The company’s lawyers said it played by the rules.
If found guilty, the Trump Organization could be fined more than $1 million. A conviction can prevent a company from getting loans and doing deals.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg inherited the prosecution when he took office in January. Bragg has taken a cautious approach to Trump, so far declining to press charges against him personally in the three-year investigation.
The jury selection process can take several days, especially if people in the pool express reservations about their ability to be neutral.
Getting an open-minded panel, however, can be critical to avoiding a mistrial.
In the spring, another trial in a nearby federal court ended in a mistrial because of tension among jurors over political views. The case involved associates of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who were accused of defrauding a charity set up to pay for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border.
In that case, eleven jurors sent a memo to the judge asking that another juror be dismissed because that person had demonstrated anti-government bias and accused everyone else of being liberal. The judge refused, and the jury ultimately could not agree on a verdict.
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