(FeaturedHeadlines.com) A New York court is beginning a trial against former US President and presumptive 2024 Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump, although the legal teams are struggling to find unbiased jurors. Prosecutors accuse Trump of covering up an alleged hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair.
The trial is proceeding, despite the existence of an official January 2018 statement from Daniels, in which she denied both the alleged affair and alleged hush money payment. Trump has criticized the case as an attempt to interfere with his presidential bid.
The jury for the trial will be selected from Manhattan’s 1.4 million adult residents. However, the potential for prejudice among jurors is “substantial,” Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans reportedly said.
Potential jurors may lie about their biases and intentions in order to secure a place on the jury, John Jay College of Criminal Justice psychology professor Margaret Bull Kovera also reportedly said. The legal teams will be able to dismiss up to 10 jurors after extensive questioning.
Attorneys are asking potential jurors a series of 42 questions about their political affiliations, jobs, and media consumption. The questionnaire also inquires about potential jurors’ ties to left- and right-wing groups, including Antifa and the Proud Boys.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. The lengthy legal proceedings could end up preventing Trump from attending other events.
Specifically, the trial could prevent Trump from attending the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron Trump. The judge overseeing the case said that it depends on whether the trial is proceeding on time. The judge also declined to grant Trump time off from the trial to attend US Supreme Court arguments in a separate legal case.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, for which he faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Trump’s fate rests in the hands of the jury, the composition of which his lawyers are carefully crafting.
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