Trump trial, members of the jury of the New York State Supreme Court met to decide the fate of the former president
The trial against Donald Trump enters its hottest phase. After five weeks of testimony on the former president’s sexual scandals, who allegedly paid the former porn star Stormy Danielsthe twelve members of the popular jury of the New York State Supreme Court they left the chamber to meet in the deliberation chamber. On the head of Trump 34 charges are pending and unanimity will be needed to reach a guilty verdict. This is the first criminal trial for a former US president.
The case in question, beyond the verdict that could arrive in the next few hours, will return many times in this electoral campaign untilElection Day, November 5th. Trump is accused in particular of having used campaign funds to reimburse his former lawyer and handyman, Michael Cohenthe 130 thousand dollars advanced to buy, in 2016, in the middle of the electoral campaign, the silence of the porn star Stormy Daniels who had threatened to reveal that she had had sex with the tycoon.
Attention now shifts to the twelve jurors, whose identity remains anonymous but not their profession: among them there are financiers, teachers, nurses, company managers, Disney employees. Five are women, seven are men. The age ranges from 30 to more than 50 years. The first juror selected will act as president of the session, behind closed doors, and will lead the discussion that will lead to the resolution. His vote is no more important than the others.
The judge Juan Merchan he declared that the jurors will have until 4.30 pm today, 10.30 pm in Italy, to reach the first verdicts on each of the 34 charges. Technically, it can take many days for the jury to reach a decision on each of the charged crimes. The exam will be very long. The verdict on each charge, whether guilty or acquittal, must be unanimous. During the deliberation session the jurors will be able to send notes externally to ask for additions or answer some doubts. Jurors could also ask for a witness to return to the courtroom.
If the twelve members deem Trump guilty of even just one of the thirty-four counts, the judge will set a new date on which he will communicate the amount of the sentence against the tycoon. If he is found not guilty of all crimes, Trump he will be immediately declared acquitted. But if the jurors do not reach a verdict, they will inform the judge, who will send the invitation back to them to reach an agreement. If the stalemate continues, in the absence of a verdict the judge could declare a “mistrial” and cancel the trial. In that case it would be up to prosecutors to decide whether to bring the case to new proceedings.
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