Donald Trump’s legal team has moved to indefinitely adjourn his upcoming New York City trial, citing overwhelming “pretrial publicity” as the basis for their request.
The trial, which is set to commence in just 14 days on April 15, is in question as the former president argues that the current media in New York renders a fair trial impossible under the prevailing conditions.
Last Monday Judge Juan Merchan announced that Trump’s hush money case would begin on the 15th. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges levied in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s lengthy investigation.
Glenn Kirshner, a former federal prosecutor and current MSNBC legal analyst, alongside NBC News legal correspondent Lisa Rubin, weighed in on the development, providing insights into the legal move. According to Rubin, Trump’s legal maneuver was anticipated following discussions in a hearing last Monday but the extent of the request – an indefinite postponement – was not previously disclosed.
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“They are asking for an indefinite postponement of the trial on the basis that the pre-trial publicity surrounding Donald Trump and his alleged criminality is so suffused throughout New York that it’s impossible for him to get a fair trial,” Rubin explained.
The legal team’s argument hinges on the saturation of pretrial media coverage that they assert has irreparably tainted the potential jury pool in New York.
They claim that coverage related to Trump’s legal entanglements, including the E. Jean Carroll trial and Allen Weisselberg’s recent guilty plea to perjury in a New York civil fraud case, has prejudiced the public against the former president to an extent that a fair trial would be unfeasible at this time.
The 34 charges, brought forward by DA Bragg, accuse Trump of falsifying business records linked to hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star. The case centers on a $130,000 payment arranged by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to allegedly ensure Daniels’ silence about an alleged affair before the 2016 campaign.
The concern with pretrial publicity is that it can influence public opinion and potentially prejudice the jury pool, making it challenging to ensure a fair and impartial trial. High levels of media attention can lead to the widespread dissemination of information that may not be admissible in court, such as allegations, evidence not yet tested in court, or information deemed prejudicial.
This can shape public perceptions of the case and the guilt or innocence of the involved parties before the trial has even started. Legal systems employ several mechanisms to mitigate the effects of pretrial publicity and protect the integrity of the judicial process. These can include:
- Change of Venue: Moving the trial to a different location to find a less prejudiced jury pool.
- Voir Dire: A process of jury selection that includes questioning potential jurors about their exposure to media coverage and their ability to remain impartial.
- Sequestration of Jurors: Keeping the jury isolated from the public and media during the trial to prevent exposure to ongoing coverage.
- Gag Orders: Restricting the parties involved in the case from discussing it publicly or with the media.
- Postponement of the Trial: Delaying the trial to allow public interest and media coverage to decrease, which is the strategy reportedly being pursued by Donald Trump’s legal team in the case mentioned.
The challenge of managing pretrial publicity has grown with the advent of digital media, which facilitates rapid and widespread dissemination of information.