Donald Trump trial would pose major hurdles — from security to jury selection

WASHINGTON — Manhattan prosecutors will face a series of unique challenges — from security to jury selection — in being the first to bring a criminal case against former President Donald Trump, legal experts told Newsday.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from payments allegedly made to quash allegations of an affair with an adult film star before the 2016 presidential election, according to court documents made public last Tuesday during the ex-president’s arraignment in Manhattan criminal court.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The circuslike atmosphere surrounding Trump’s first court appearance offered a preview of the logistical challenges facing the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office once a full-fledged trial is launched, including protecting the former president and those tied to the case.

Trump’s legal team has said it will file a motion to dismiss the charges, but if it fails, the former president’s attorneys likely will file multiple motions aimed at delaying the start of criminal court proceedings, experts said.

That could mean the case would not go to trial until next year — possibly against the backdrop of the 2024 presidential race as Trump seeks a second term in the Oval Office.

Legal analysts note there will be unique challenges in prosecuting a former president for the first time.

“This is like a celebrity case on steroids,” former Nassau County prosecutor Joel Weiss, a white-collar criminal defense attorney at the law firm Farrell Fritz in Uniondale. “This is about as extreme as it gets, and so it's going to filter into the process in a bunch of ways.”

Delaying tactics

Manhattan prosecutors will have to contend with the prospect that Trump will seek to stall the case as long as possible.

“How long this will take is anyone’s guess, but it will surely take several months, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a couple of years — meaning that Trump might be able to delay any trial in this case until after the 2024 election,” University of Virginia law professor Darryl K. Brown told Newsday.

If Trump were to win the 2024 presidential election, local prosecutors would face a series of untested legal issues, University of Michigan Law Professor Will Thomas said in an online blog post.

“What happens if Trump is convicted and he wins the 2024 presidential election? Well, then we start getting into weird hypotheticals,” Thomas wrote.

“For example, a felony conviction precludes someone being enlisted in the U.S. military," Thomas said. "Does that rule apply to the Commander in Chief? Probably not. If Trump were sentenced to a term of imprisonment, could the state of New York lawfully hold the duly elected president in prison? Maybe? The list of unsettled legal issues here is long — for now, all we can do is focus on the case at hand.”

Security concerns

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have received multiple death threats since Trump’s criminal indictment was unveiled last Tuesday, according to news media reports.

Merchan told Trump’s attorneys in court Trump should “refrain” from posting incendiary messages on social media. The warning came days after Trump suggested on his social media platform Truth Social that an indictment against him could result in “potential death & destruction.”

“Given [Trump’s] rhetoric, about death and destruction, right out of the starting gate there will be security concerns for anybody related to the prosecution team, or any key witnesses testifying against him,” Weiss said. “Security related to this courthouse is going to be extreme.”

Weiss said Trump’s penchant for airing grievances on social media raises the possibility Merchan will impose a gag order to restrict Trump from commenting publicly on evidence provided to his defense team or other developments in the case.

Merchan alluded to the stakes involved in such a move during Trump's arraignment.

"Certainly, the court would not impose a gag order at this time even if it were requested,” Merchan said. “Such restraints are the most serious and least tolerable on First Amendment rights. That does apply doubly to Mr. Trump, because he is a candidate for the presidency of the United States.”

Jury selection

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees all criminal defendants the right to an “impartial jury,” but finding 12 jurors and up to six alternates for a high-stakes case like Trump’s could pose a challenge in Manhattan, where active registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by 10-1.

“This is a Manhattan jury so Manhattanites may be more prolific voters than people in many places,” Weiss said.

“They probably have strong feelings about their ballot, so it's a real challenge for both sides … figuring out how they're going to question jurors to determine in the mind of the lawyers which way this person voted, and how strong their feelings are," Weiss said.

And during jury selection, "they're going to question whether or not they can put aside preconceptions, follow the law as the judge instructs, not jump to conclusions, only decide based upon what happens within the four walls of the courtroom," Weiss told Newsday.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.