Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. The hush money trial is upon us. Donald Trump launched a barrage of delay bids this week, but the state appeals court swatted them down. That means that jury selection is set for Monday in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
That jury selection will be crucial. Indeed, it’s where cases can be won or lost — before the first witness is even called to the stand. So expect a battle between prosecutors and defense lawyers over which Manhattanites sit on this historic case.
And the rules for this battle? Each side gets 10 “strikes” to reject potential jurors they don’t want. Plus, Judge Juan Merchan can dismiss any number of people he thinks can’t be fair. In the case against a man everyone has opinions about, it may take a while to assemble a final crew of 12 jurors (plus alternates, who will sub in if needed).
Curious what these prospective jurors will be asked? We learned all about that this week when Merchan released the questionnaire. It’s a broad list of 42 queries, ranging from standard biographical info to whether they support QAnon or listen to Michael Cohen’s podcast. You can read the complete list here.
Speaking of Cohen, we also learned more about potential witnesses. As expected, Trump’s former fixer will likely be a key prosecution witness. We also know from NBC News reporting that among those who may take the stand for the state are alleged hush money recipients Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, as well as former Trump aide Hope Hicks.
Will Trump himself testify? I’ll believe that when I see it.
Will Trump himself testify? I’ll believe that when I see it. But that choice is up to each criminal defendant. We’re a long way from that phase of the trial because the prosecution (which bears the burden of proof) presents its case first. Then we’ll see what evidence, if any, the defense wants to put on.
But first, we need to pick a jury to hear that evidence. The…
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