Scene in Trump courtroom unusual in many ways

By: Mike Kelly
columnist
USA Today Network

NEW YORK - The wheels of justice finally began to turn on Monday [04/15/2024] in the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.
..... But as with almost everything else in the legal and political world of Donald Trump - the former president-turned-criminal defendant - this turning of justice wheels on the 15th floor of the New York State Supreme court building in lower Manhattan was complicated.
..... It was also slow -very slow.
..... And for Trump, it was unusually loud - than suddenly quiet.
..... As he walked to the courtroom, Trump stopped and told a gaggle of reporters that "nothing like this has ever happened before," adding that "it's an assault on America, an assault on our country, a country that's failing."
..... The statement was standard for Trump and echoed other brash claims he made in recent months as his legal problems mounted.
..... Inside the courtroom, however, Trump spoke only three words out loud. He said "yes' three times to a series of questions from Judge Juan Merchan, who reminded Trump that he could assist his lawyer in his defense, but only if he behaved himself.
..... "If you disrupt the proceedings in nay way, the court has the right to exclude you from the courtroom," Merchan said.
..... Trump nodded and quietly said, "Yes."
..... Merchan later chided Trump's lawyer after they asked for a delay to assemble evidence. "Here's where we stand: You have 24 hours," a seemingly exasperated Merchan said.
..... The judge then added that defense attorneys had "been very busy filing motions," some of which duplicated previous ones and seemed part of what some legal critics say is a delaying tactic by Trump. "You've made decisions on how you're going to sue your time," Merechan said, cutting off the argument.
..... For the most part, though, Merchan kept his temper in check, often speaking in a soft voice. Even when he told prosecutors and defense attorneys that they could not photocopy lists of names of jurors. Mechan seemed more a matter-of-fact adviser than a judge.
..... The loud and quiet episodes on Monday [04/15/2024] with Trump underscored in some ways how strange the moment has become. At one point, the 77-year-old seemed to nod off, his head sinking forward, then snapping up when his attorney handed him a piece of paper.
..... As the proceedings were about to end, his defense team asked Mercahan to give Trump permission to skip next Thursday's [04/25/2024] trial in New York City to attend oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Trump's claim of presidential immunity form charges in his federal trials.
..... Merchan from charges in his federal trials.
..... Merchan refused.
..... "Your client is a criminal defendant," Merchan said, referring to the New York trial. "He's not required to be in the U.S. Supreme court. He's required to be hear."

Trying to campaign for a new term

..... The trial is the first in history in which an ex-president had been charged with a crime. and yet, the trial comes at a time when Trump is not only campaigning but also claiming he had been unfairly targeted by a government that aims to block home and his supporters from achieving power.
..... At the same time, this court drama p nicknamed the "hush money" trail - is potentially the most salacious. it may also be least consequential of the four criminal proceedings that Trump faces, with tow others for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election and one involving his alleged illegal retention of top-secret documents.
..... No matter, though. While the other trials - two in federal courts in Washington, D.C., and in Florida, and one in a Georgia state court - have been delayed, the so-called "hush money" trial began Monday [04/15/2024] with efforts to select a jury in a New York courthouse that is more accustomed to trials involving gruesome murders and wild robberies.
..... And here is where the wheels of justice seemed stuck in low gear.
..... Lawyers devoted nearly two hours in the morning to pretrial arguments. The first batch of 92 potential jurors were not brought into the courtroom until 2:36 PM, Monday. [04/15/2024] And then they were subjected to a nearly 30-minute lecture from Merchan on their duties.
..... Trump faces 34 felony courts of illegally doctoring his financial records and there by violating election laws. At issue is an alleged payment of $130,000 that Trump reportedly gave to a former-porn star as a way to buying her silence about their alleged extramarital affair, in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
..... Paying hush money is not necessarily a felony. Nor is doctoring business records - that's usually a misdemeanor in New York state. What propelled this case it felon status is the allegations that Trump's reported lying on his financial records was done to cover up another crime: the more consequential violation of failing to report the payment on his campaign records.
..... Trump reproductively paid the $130,000 in hush money to pron actress stormy Daniels in the last weeks of the 2016 campaign to head off a growing storm of allegations that he mistreated women. if convicted, he could be sentenced to four years in prison.

How long could the trial go?

..... It may take most of the spring for jurors to hear the evidence - and then decide whether it constitutes a crime. On Monday, [04/15/2024] Merchan told jurors he expects the trial to last at least six weeks.
..... But then the judge added that eh could not predict whether the proceedings will go longer.
..... In most trials, such an admission by the judge might not mean all that much. Trials tend to run by their own schedules once they start. And, often, surprising bursts of evidence or unexpected turns of testimony can cause delays or call for more extensive testimony.
..... With Trump, such unknowns will undoubtedly factor into his other, non-court schedule - that of a presidential candidate. He is expected to sit in court all day, then campaign at night - a grueling schedule by any measure.
..... In the hours leading up to Monday's [04/15/2024] court appearance, Trump continued his strategy of mixing politics with his legal problems.
..... In several social media postings, he repeated his claim that he is victim of a "witch hunt," claiming without any evidence that the four criminal cases against him are the work of President Joe Biden.
..... Just after midnight, as police began to assemble in lower Manhattan to surround the New York State Supreme court Building with numerous layers of security, Trump release what he called a "Biden Trial Fact Sheet."
..... Among other claims, he referred to one of the lead prosecution witnesses, Michael Cohen, as a "notorious liar."
..... Such a statement might appear to violate a special order from Merchan baring Trump form attacking potentiate witnesses.
..... On Monday, [04/15/2024] that question was not addressed in pretrial discussions by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
..... Instead, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over a series of other Trump postings on his Truth Social messaging pl;platform. in one post, Trump referred to Cohen as a "serial perjurer." In another, he called Cohen and his alleged former lover in the hush money case "sleazebags."
..... Prosecutor Christopher Conroy asked Merchan to impose a $1,000 fine on each of what he called three violations by Trump of the gag order.
..... "It is important for the court to remind Mr. Trump that he is a criminal defendant," Conroy said, "and like all criminal defendants, he is subject to court supervision."
..... "The defendant," Conroy added, "has demonstrated his willingness to flout the order."
..... Trump's lead defense lawyer Todd Blanche, countered, saying the former president was nearly defending himself.
..... "It's not as if President Trump is going out and targeting individuals," Blanche said. "He's responding to statements by these witnesses."
..... Like so many others in Trump's legal wrangles, the moment capture the yin-and-yang quality of how Trump's own message can be interpreted. Indeed, even the way each side addressed Trump was a sign of how divided America has become.
..... Prosecutors referred to Trump as "Mister Trump." Defense attorneys repeatedly - and notably - called him "President trump" when they addressed Merchan.

Outside the courtroom

..... Outside, in a park across the street from the courthouse, Trump's supporters and critics lobbed similar dissonant messages about him.
..... A construction supervisor in a Black T-shirt form Shrewbury, New Jersey, who declined to give his real name and instead said he went by the name of the American Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, said he was there to support Trump.
..... "I'm her to be supportive of President Trump and protest this farce," he said. "It's like a banana republic."
..... Nearby, a woman, who also declined to give her name, displayed a placard with a simple but complicated message:"Trump is the definition of depravity."
..... Upstairs, in the courtroom on the 5th floor, prospective jurors seated in the rear benches craned their necks to gaze at Trump, who was seated at a table near the front of the room.
..... Merchan called several groups forward. he took a few minutes to ask them to fill out a special court query of 42 questions that he had drawn up with prosecutors and defense attorneys.
..... In itself, the questionnaire was unusual. But like so much else on Monday, [04/15/2024] it was part of the strangeness at hand.
..... As the hours rolled on, finally a small flicker of ordinary humanity seemed to emerge.
..... After jurors filled out the questionnaire, Merchan asked several to go through their answers.
..... What emerged was a mix of classic New Yorkers. A few worked in finance. One worked at Bloomingdale's. Another said he enjoyed walking his dog. Yet another said she liked to "go to clubs" in her free time.
..... The admission brought out a much-needed response from onlookers.
..... Laughter.

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