We know Trump would have no qualms about giving the order. The question is who stands up and says no.
But is an appeal automatically granted? Don’t there have to be some grounds, and doesn’t someone have to rule that those grounds have enough merit for briefings, opinions, etc.?
And is it normal for a convicted felon to be free, with no restrictions whatsoever, whille their appeal is processed?
IANAL, obviously, but ISTM that if this is the process, no one would ever end up in prison without a couple of years to screw around after their verdict. If at all.
Generally, every defendant has a right to one level of appeal. They could rule based on the briefs that they don’t need oral argument. (it’s rare where I practice, but a possibility. Not sure about New York State). But, they will be briefing, and a decision on the merits. And probably oral argument. (given the high profile defendant, if nothing else).
Not with no restrictions. Most often, the felon begins serving their sentence soon after the sentence is imposed (of course, many normal defendants have been in custody since they were charged). If they are allowed to remain free pending appeal (likely in this case) there will be some restrictions.
In NY, white collar criminals or non violent ones can often stay out on bail- with conditions- until the first appeal.
Perfectly said. And it’s a fact.
When.
They.
Cooperate.
Cite?
Convicted felons almost never get to delay their sentence pending an appeal.
Have you not been reading? See post 197 and others posted by others.
NY is unusual in this.
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/31/trump-appeal-guilty-verdict-arguments
The big picture: The appeal process will take several months, making it very unlikely to conclude before November.
- That could actually be good news for Trump. He’d likely remain free on bail in the meantime even if Merchan sentences him to prison. Some legal analysts believe probation is more likely as Trump was convicted of the least serious class of felony under New York law.
This also surprised me. Now, this is only for the original appeal.
The problem with this is obvious. These “legal analysts” don’t have a crystal ball, and may, in fact, be talking out their ass.
That’s the sum total of any analysis in your cite of the issue of “remaining free pending appeal”.
Do you have something that provides some substantive reason for this statement?
No, not talking out their ass- but they could be wrong of course. Even the best informed expert opinion can be wrong.
It has been posted here on the SDMB many times- but
A judge who is otherwise authorized pursuant to section 460.50 or section 460.60 to issue an order of recognizance or bail pending the determination of an appeal, may do so unless the defendant received a class A felony sentence or a sentence for any class B or class C felony offense defined in article one hundred …
https://georgiarecorder.com/2024/06/01/an-angry-trump-pledges-to-appeal-this-scam-conviction-as-republicans-vow-resistance/#:~:text=Trump%20could%20remain%20free%20on,to%20the%20state’s%20highest%20court.
Trump could remain free on bail conditions set by the court, or no bail conditions, subject to a decision by the appeals court and potentially any other review if an appeals judge sends the case to the state’s highest court.
“Most white collar cases get bail pending appeal. That’s just a fact,” says Diana Florence, a former long-time prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-is-convicted-felon-now-what-2024-05-30/
That is unlikely.
The maximum sentence for Trump’s crime of falsifying business records is 1-1/3 to four years in prison.
It is rare for people with no criminal history who are convicted only of falsification of business records to be sentenced to prison in New York. Punishments such as fines or probation are more common… If punished beyond a fine, Trump could be placed under home confinement or subject to a curfew rather than imprisoned.
As a former president, he has a lifetime Secret Service detail, and the logistics of keeping him safe behind bars could be complicated.
The enforcement of any sentence could be delayed while Trump appeals his conviction.
the logistics of keeping him safe behind bars could be complicated.
That’s just some random reporter’s opinion. And sure, it could be complicated but I doubt that’s a reason not to do it. (there are reasons not to do it, but complicated logistics isn’t one of them)
It is equally rare for white collar criminals to act like total jackasses in court, and violate court orders repeatedly outside of court.
And probably relatively rare not to eventually plead guilty.
If it were absolutely imperative that I go to prison for white collar crime, I would have done exactly what Trump did.
So how long will it be before the Qanon folks start insisting that Trump did all of that as a plan to infiltrate the US prison system and thus reveal the secrets that Biden and the rest of the Deep State are hiding behind bars?
You’ve quoted a great many people saying this. Have you noticed yet that not one of those people has said what any of the complications are?
Of course it’s complicated. Protecting someone is always complicated. The person you’re protecting being in a highly-secured building, isolated from almost all other people, makes it less complicated, not more.
He’s not going into supermax. Any prison time would be spent in a minimum security facility for nonviolent and white collar convictions. He wouldn’t be in gen pop with your average gang bangers and meth heads and neonazi biker drug runners.
So envisioning Trump at constant risk of getting shanked, or a riot breaking out to overwhelm the couple of armed escorts is off base.
However, it wouldn’t be one of those high end federal prisons, and he might go thru some more general facilities. It’s not impossible someone would wish him harm and take action. And we all know that jails and prisons aren’t entirely safe for criminals incarcerated in them.
Then there is the outside risk of a terrorist wanting to strike an ex-pres. There’s also the probably more real risk that some MAGA extremists would take it upon themselves to storm the castle prison. Prisons are built to withstand reasonable attacks from outside to free someone, but not every possibility a large motivated group might devise.
None of which are huge hurdles to incarcerating Trump. Yes, some element of a personal detail inside the facility. Probably more easily accomplished by some of the ideas already floated in the thread - from an unused wing of an old jail being decommissioned to a trailer parked in a secured lot within the confines of a military base or on the prison grounds.
The security detail would need some special accommodation, but nothing to onerous. Just the ability to control access and some break/rest facility for whoever is on shift but in rotating duty. Their ability to come and go would be under the same conditions as prison guards.
Where’s @Little_Nemo when we need him? He used to work for the New York prison system.
Having summoned me, I regret I have to disagree with you. If Trump gets sentenced to prison (which I feel is unlikely) he will almost certainly be sent to the highest security level prison there is.
Part of the assessment of where to place an incoming inmate is not only to determine how much potential danger they present to others but also how much potential danger others present to them. So high-profile inmates get placed in maximum security and isolated from other inmates because they’re seen as likely targets. And a former president is about as high profile as you can get.
Look at it from the state’s point of view. If they put Trump in a minimum security prison and another inmate gets annoyed at him and decides to punch him in the nose, the front page news will be how New York state failed to protect him by putting him in a place with minimum security. So the state is going to lock him away where no other inmate will ever be near him.