Donald Trump at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan today.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
For more than five weeks, a jury of 12 New Yorkers, seven men and five women, sat quietly and listened to arguments from lawyers and testimony from witnesses in the first criminal trial of an American president. Now, a decision is in their hands.
Deliberations began today after the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s trial in New York, Juan Merchan, delivered an array of legal instructions to guide the jury. Merchan reminded the jurors to set aside any biases and consider the defendant a peer. The jurors then retreated behind closed doors with the task of reaching a verdict that could either vindicate Trump or sully him as a felon as he seeks to regain the presidency.
They deliberated for more than four hours before Merchan dismissed them for the day. During that time, they sent a couple of notes to the judge, including a request to hear his instructions again. Merchan said that the requests would be addressed tomorrow, when the jury returns for a second day of deliberations.
While the jury could reach a verdict as soon as tomorrow, it also could take several more weeks, or they could fail to reach a verdict at all. Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on the eve of the 2016 election, and the jurors’ verdict on each count must be unanimous. If convicted, Trump would face a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison — although he would be certain to appeal, a process that could take years.
