Jury selection will resume Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, where dozens of potential jurors will be questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneys in an effort to assemble a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.
A group of about 1,500 potential jurors — all of whom are Manhattan residents — were summoned to appear in court Monday.
The trial was expected to last a week or more, but seven were selected and sworn in on Tuesday, meaning a full jury could be seated by the end of the week.
➡️ This is how it works
Potential jurors – eighteen at a time – are called into the courtroom, where presiding judge Juan Merchan reads a summary of the charges against Trump and asks them if they can be fair and impartial. The potential jurors are also asked if there are any scheduling conflicts that would prevent them from attending every day of the trial, which could last more than six weeks.
Each prospective juror is then given a questionnaire containing 42 questions that have been negotiated and agreed upon in advance by the prosecution and defense.
✏️ Hthere is that questionnaire:
❌ Who gets fired
Those who say they cannot be fair and impartial or have scheduling conflicts will likely be fired. Those who remain are then interviewed individually by attorneys for both sides, who may reject up to ten potential jurors without reason.
For others, the attorneys can argue why they believe a prospective juror cannot be fair and impartial. Koopman has the final say.
Trump lashed out at the trial in a post on Truth Social, saying he was under the impression the defense had made “unrestricted” strikes in choosing the jury.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly argued that the jury pool in the heavily Democratic city where Trump grew up has been tainted by the publicity surrounding the case. Prosecutors have countered that potential jurors can be aware of the case — they just need to keep an open mind.
🧐 What we’ll know about the jury once it’s selected
Not very. Both sides will know the names of the jurors, but only attorneys for both the prosecution and defense will have access to their addresses. Trump — who has been admonished by Merchan for attacking prosecutors and court staff on social media — is allowed to mention their names but not their addresses. And he is not allowed to reveal the identities of the jurors to the public.
The public may never know the names of the judges. Last month, Merchan granted a request from the prosecutor to protect them to prevent possible harassment.
