A criminal defendant has an absolute right to be present for everything material at the trial, including individual juror questioning.
I hope the judge will keep trump a distance away from the prospective jurors. Should trump become disruptive I’m sure the judge will take this privilege away.
And what else happens in the side bar, apart from the witness preparation and the jury selection? I have never heard the term before, is it a US thing, or does it exist in other jurisdictions (UK, perhaps? Or even wider?)?
On the other hand, the sight of Trump glaring and pouting at them may just embolden some of the jurors. “Jerk is not going to intimidate me! I am going to try to get on this jury.”
I didn’t think defendants were allowed to ‘leave the table’ that they are sitting at?
Each judge handles it a bit differently, but generally it’s to avoid having to shuffle the jury out of the room when legal argument needs to take place out of their presence. They often even have a white noise button, so the jurors can’t hear what is being said.
I assume that’s why they’re asking permission in advance.
Meidas touch has folks following the trial today in person.
Trump Trial Day 1 - MeidasTouch Network
Some highlights:
- Judge immediately denied Trumps motion to indefinitely delay trial
- Judge will not allow DA to present Access Hollywood ‘pussy grab’ video. As it would be too prejudicial to Trump
- Judge will allow Karen McDougal to testify that she and Trump had a year long sexual relationship while he was married to Melania, but not allow her to testify that this happened while Melania was pregnant with Barron
- DA requests hearing for Trump already violating the gag order. Hearing set for 4/24.
- Judge stated Trump has right to be present for the trial but will not hesitate to put him in jail if he cannot behave himself during the trial.
Today I learned. Makes this layman wonder why it’s not done much more often. 9 times out of 10, it’s probably not a help to the defendant’s case but I can think of non-contrived situations where it could be.
One may safely assume that a defendant straight up telling a potential juror “I can find out where you live” or “I know where your kids go to school” is right out?
I sat through voir dire three times in New York City civil court (managed to avoid get selected twice) and it was always just the two lawyers, I never saw the judge during that process. I think that’s the norm.
And as to the jurors, I’m not only concerned about their safety but the safety of Trump detractors who happen to share the same name — because you know they’ll find their social media accounts and make false claims that they are the accounts of jurors.
Merchan says names of potential jurors may not be copied or photographed
Is hand-copying a violation?
Even if all they are going to do is ask their team to Google the names, I think there will be great temptation to violate this.
Is there more on the list than a name? That doesn’t give much to work with, regardless of whether you are jury tampering or just goggling.
I do hope that trump is one of those rare cases of “I know more about law” types and think that they can just do better than their lawyer and want to run the case.
It does not go well, I can’t think of a case where it worked to the defendant’s advantage.
Great, now I’m going to go down a google hole.
I found one.
4. Dr. Narendra Parbhoo
In 2003, Florida surgeon Dr. Narendra Parbhoo was arrested for allegedly plotting to kill his business partner Dr. Abdul Aswad. Facing up to 30 years in prison, Parbhoo represented himself in his sensational attempted murder trial. He adeptly cross-examined witnesses and delivered a compelling closing argument highlighting reasonable doubt. In a surprising verdict, the jury acquitted him of all charges. His legal victory demonstrates that with thorough preparation, strong communication skills, and a convincing case, self-representation can work.
At the risk of trotting out a well-worn cliche …
Donald Trump is no Dr. Narendra Parbhoo.
Sounds like Trump doesn’t trust his attorneys and wants to hear every word they have to say.
For sure.
90+ jurors have been sworn in and questioning is starting.
The judge was always there when I got to the questioning phase. Some times I was in the jury box, some times in the witness box.
Sorry if this has already been asked: is the trump team using a jury consultant (a la TV show Bull - though obviously not quite so over the top)?
I think it’s highly likely that Bull will feature heavily in Trump’s defense strategy, albeit with a lowercase b.
A sidebar is just a private conversation between the lawyers and the judge at the bench, outside of earshot of the jury (and in the context of the quoted part above, examination refers to “asking questions”, not looking at the person. Also, you can voir dire a witness, as when you have to first ask questions to establish that somebody qualifies as an expert). So, no, it doesn’t put you closer to the jurors, who are usually sitting in the gallery during jury selection, and in the jury box during the trial, or the witnesses sitting in the witness chair, who can only be approached with express permission from the judge.
As others have said, it’s not a discussion that the defendant is usually involved in. They wait at the defense table. Why? Well, during the trial those private conversations are usually about objections, and so are legal arguments that the defendant won’t have any input on. During voir dire, it might be more general stuff (like “I think juror #5 is sleeping. Keep an eye on him”), but still doesn’t necessitate input from the defendant.
Trump just wants to be able to approach the judge, I guess, or listen in to make sure his lawyers are arguing everything they can.
(I was once in a federal trial that had headphones for the people at the table to be able to hear the conversation at the bench. That was cool)
That may be the norm in New York, but it’s unusual elsewhere. How else is the judge supposed to rule on objections or requests to remove for cause, if they are not present?
My take is that he is so convinced of his personal force of personality, that he can sway anything and anyone to his favor by his mere presence. He’s been surrounded by enough sycophants for so long, and he has been such a successful bully, that it just doesn’t cross his mind that there are areas in which others have greater authority than him, and will simply think him a fool for thinking he is the boss of everyone and everything.
I hope he directly threatens the judge and/or his family. In open court.