# So he was convicted. Big honking deal **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [June 1, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368 "2024-06-01T03:34:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/161 "2024-06-02T13:44:38Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > My point is that if they _did_ lock him up, it would be somewhere a Hell of a lot nicer and easier than I or most of the population would get sent for anywhere near that number of crimes, or even less. You weirdly seem to think that the terms of incarceration are based on the _number_ of crimes committed, instead of what those crimes actually are. Thirty-four counts of jaywalking doesn’t get you sent to Attica. As others have explained, the nature of the offenses and whether it’s a first-time offender play a role. But fundamentally, the prison system decides where you will go based on what’s best for the prison system. Where can the prisoner serve his time that’s most cost-effective to the state, most likely to keep him, other prisoners and staff safe, etc. Given these, Trump’s terms of incarceration would likely be _harsher_ than an equivalent first-time offender convicted of falsifying business records. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/162 "2024-06-02T14:37:36Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > What, I’m supposed to take mockery and impugnment from Straight Dope strangers as my due for disagreeing with you, and if I resist that treatment, then I’m a crazy person who wears _tin foil hats_? Yes, but not for disagreeing with us but for being a tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist. As evidenced by this, > 1.Trump won’t go to the joint. **Because the Powers That Fucking Be, the heads of the government and holders of the wealth** , are never gonna let one of the rich and powerful of ex-president level, really go to prison. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/163 "2024-06-02T14:51:11Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > About that: I do see the conviction as a big deal in the sense that the whole Republican party is getting more discredited for the appalling defense of Trump they are making, not only with progressives, but also with moderates. This (to an extent). It makes the GOP “pro-law and order” branding even more hypocritical than before. The Democratic congressional and senate ads are writing themselves as we speak. (“My opponent hates the American justice system and loves convicted felons.”) However, it won’t push the branding over the edge into some critical state — it’s survived plenty of cognitive dissonance up until now, and it can stand yet more (sadly) — but it might be one factor in the minds of a few voters (and, as we’ve heard a million times, these days a few is all you need). ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/164 "2024-06-02T14:51:38Z")
If you think that government and the big money don’t work hand in glove to benefit and shelter each other, well, you’ve got a downright touching faith in the system. And, darling, the tin foil hat routine is so _passe_ it’s the day before yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/165 "2024-06-02T14:54:53Z")
And that is bullshit, one can see that very rich people can and did go to jail. While at the same time we can demand that the system be better. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/166 "2024-06-02T14:54:59Z")
Sheltered Trump so well that he was; indicted, tried, and convicted on 32 FELONY counts. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/167 "2024-06-02T14:57:12Z")
34 felony counts. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/168 "2024-06-02T14:58:38Z")
Yeah! Don’t harsh my mellow with an undercount. This is a big, honking deal! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/169 "2024-06-02T14:58:48Z")
I guess my question is more of a “how does that work?” than anything else. As I always understood it, that collusion between government and big money was always in the line of each one fertilizing each other’s ground, so to speak, and making things easier for each other. Any kind of immediate or acute kind of quid pro quo type actions that they could take on Trump’s behalf would pretty much be obvious and trackable. At best, you’d see a judge being lenient with respect to _where_ he would be incarcerated, or maybe the judge would knock the sentence back if the jury over-penalized him. But that stuff’s got to be within the bounds of precedent and normal operation- the judge can’t realistically countermand a jury’s sentence from 5 years in prison to six months of probation without getting a LOT of scrutiny and possible disbarment and dismissal. That’s why I’m hoping for something relatively lenient like house arrest. I feel like that’ll be _more_ onerous for him- he can see the outside world, but can’t really interact with it, and nobody can claim it’s too harsh without sounding like a total idiot. And there’s a high risk that he’ll disobey the terms and get thrown into actual jail, without any claims of railroading, rigging, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/170 "2024-06-02T15:23:32Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > And, darling, the tin foil hat routine is so _passe_ it’s the day before yesterday. You are bringing it up _much_ more than anyone else is. BTW, can you name a single “cushy” prison Trump could be sent to. You really blew it the last time, but I’m willing to give you a second chance. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/171 "2024-06-02T15:36:35Z")
From what I’ve seen of the American prison system, if that is what college dorms are also like, I’m absolutely terrified of the post-secondary education system now, especially given as students pay for the privilege! ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/172 "2024-06-02T15:54:20Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are bringing it up _much_ more than anyone else is. Wrong, dipshit. Your buddy Crow started that shit, and my every mention of the trope has been in response to him. > [@](#): > > BTW, can you name a single “cushy” prison Trump could be sent to. You really blew it the last time, but I’m willing to give you a second chance. All the places where the bastards with the fat wallets and silk underwear get sent to. Any of the min.sec. FPCs that I already mentioned or the institutes in the article referenced in #80 Johnny LA posted upstream, would be like a week in Aruba compared to the real stripey hole, where you’d drop _me_ if you caught me out of line. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/173 "2024-06-02T15:56:30Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And let’s see if on one specific point, my prediction is right: the Democratic convention in Chicago. I predict chaos and violence. Let’s hope I’m wrong about that too. And it will rain too. And my umbrella probably has holes in it. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/174 "2024-06-02T15:58:18Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > BTW, can you name a single “cushy” prison Trump could be sent to. You really blew it the last time, but I’m willing to give you a second chance. > > All the places where the bastards with the fat wallets and silk underwear get sent to. And here we have another unnamed theoretical place. “Name a place” “All them cushy places” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/175 "2024-06-02T16:00:42Z")
So the answer is no, you can’t. All you have to do is name _ONE_ that the judge could send him to. You might want to do a little digging before naming any in particular, this time. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/176 "2024-06-02T16:25:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’m pretty sure that this one would go to the Supreme Court of New York. Criminal stuff like this can’t be appealed outside of the state AFAIK, unless it’s a question of Constitutional law, which this is most assuredly not. Nitpick. The trial was actually in the State Supreme Court. That’s what the trial level court are called in New York. The state’s highest court is the New York Court of Appeals. (The first level of appeal is to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.) But your point is correct, Trump would have to find a federal constitutional argument to get to the US Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/177 "2024-06-02T16:26:39Z")
> [@El\_DeLuxo](#): > > Any of the min.sec. FPCs that I already mentioned or the institutes in the article referenced in #80 Johnny LA posted upstream, would be like a week in Aruba compared to the real stripey hole, where you’d drop _me_ if you caught me out of line. Those are Federal prisons. Trump would go to a NY State prison. Are any of those cushy? ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/178 "2024-06-02T16:49:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You are bringing it up _much_ more than anyone else is. > BTW, can you name a single “cushy” prison Trump could be sent to. You really blew it the last time, but I’m willing to give you a second chance. I’m not: the OP has shown himself a bozo and we need not pay attention to him. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/179 "2024-06-02T17:04:01Z")
I may have posted this elsewhere… But technically, as a convicted felon he would have a hard time getting a job just about anywhere. President though? That’s A-OK. We need an amendment STAT! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368/180 "2024-06-02T17:10:03Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > President though? That’s A-OK. We need an amendment STAT! No, no, no. We need an amendment FED! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-he-was-convicted-big-honking-deal/1002368.md?page=10)