NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is making history criminal process will begin Monday with a simple but extraordinary procedural step that is vital to American democracy. A group of ordinary citizens — Trump’s peers, in the eyes of the law — will be chosen to decide whether the former president of the United States is guilty of a crime.
The process of jury selection it may take days. Lawyers on both sides of the case will have limited opportunities to try to shape the court in their favor, but the court’s purpose will not be to ensure that there is a partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans or that it is made up of people who forget past news for the process.
The idea is to attract people who are willing to put aside their personal opinions and make a decision based on the evidence and the law.
Here are some of the factors that will go into jury selection:
Who can participate in the jury?
This jury will be composed only of people who live in Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York. All English-speaking US citizens over the age of 18 who have not been convicted of a felony are eligible to serve as jurors in New York. Court officials identify potential jurors from lists of registered voters, taxpayers, driver’s license holders, public benefit recipients and other sources.
The pool of potential jurors for Trump’s trial will be randomly selected. People can volunteer as jurors, but they can’t choose which trial they sit on.
What if a juror does not want to serve?
Jury duty is mandatory, but you can be excused for a variety of reasons, including financial or medical hardship.
How will the jury be selected?
Judge Juan M. Murchan will begin by bringing a large group of potential jurors into the courtroom. He will then outline the case and present the accused Trump to the jury. The judge will then ask potential jurors a critical question: Can they serve and be fair and impartial? Those who cannot will be asked to raise their hand. For this trial, jurors who indicate they cannot serve or be fair will be excused.
The rest will be called into groups in the jury box where they will be asked 42 questions, some with multiple parts.
Lawyers on each side will have a limited number of warnings they can use to exclude potential jurors they don’t like without giving a reason. They can also argue that a particular juror should be excluded, but they must get the judge to agree to dismiss that person.
The trial continues until 12 jurors and six alternates have been selected. More large groups of potential jurors can be brought into the courtroom if necessary.
What questions will the jurors be asked?
The judge will not allow lawyers to ask potential jurors whether they are Democrats or Republicans, who they voted for or whether they have given money to political causes. But there are multiple questions aimed at rooting out whether people are likely biased against or in favor of Trump.
Between them:
“Do you have any political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions that might prevent you from following the court’s instructions about the law or that might bias your approach to this case?”
“Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever worked or volunteered for a Trump presidential campaign, the Trump presidential administration, or any other political entity associated with Mr. Trump?”
“Have you ever attended a Donald Trump rally or campaign event?”
“Do you currently follow Donald Trump on any social media site or have you done so in the past?”
“Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever worked for or volunteered for any anti-Trump group or organization?”
“Have you ever attended a rally or campaign event for any anti-Trump group or organization?”
“Do you currently follow any anti-Trump group or organization on any social media site or have you done so in the past?”
“Have you ever considered yourself a supporter of or belonging to any of the following: QAnon, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Centers, Boogaloo Boys, Antifa.”
Jurors will be asked what podcasts and talk radio programs they listen to and where they get their news.
Will the public learn the jurors’ identities?
The judge ordered the names of jurors to be kept secret, an unusual but not unprecedented step in trials where there is the potential for jurors to be harassed or threatened during or after the trial. There is nothing to prevent jurors from voluntarily speaking about their experiences after the trial is over. While it’s pending, they don’t have to talk about it with anyone.
What will this jury decide?
Jurors in that trial will hear testimony and decide whether Trump is guilty of any of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Their decision to convict or acquit must be unanimous. If they can’t agree on a sentence, the judge can declare a mistrial. If jurors have reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty, they must acquit him. If convicted, the judge will decide the sentence, not the jury.
