Show trials and the collapse of American jurisprudence
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This is outrageous, but explicable on unanimity. The jury still has to unanimously convict Trump, but do not have to be unanimous on which crime Trump allegedly covered up with false ledger entries. The prosecution only discussed that in closing arguments and offered three theories -- one of which was a violation of federal campaign-finance law, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Manhattan DA and state courts. As long as jurors are convinced he tried to cover up one or more of the crimes, they don't have to be unanimous on which one it was.
Needless to say, this is absurdly unconstitutional. Defendants are entitled to know the clear charges against them, and prosecutors are required to prove each element of the case. In this trial, the only reason these are felonies is because Bragg insists that Trump violated other laws, but never even presented a case on any of the three theories.
RELATED:
Rep. Stefanik slaps Judge Juan Merchan with misconduct complaint over ‘random’ assignment to Trump ‘hush money’ trial
“Acting Justice Merchan currently presides over the criminal case against President Trump brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,” she said.
“Acting Justice Merchan also presided over the criminal trial against the Trump Organization and will be presiding over the criminal trial of Steve Bannon, a senior advisor in President Trump’s White House and a prominent advocate for President Trump,” Stefanik continued, noting that there were at least two dozen sitting justices eligible to oversee the cases, but Merchan — an acting justice — was selected for all three related to the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee for president and his allies.
“If justices were indeed being randomly assigned in the Criminal Term, the probability of two specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is quite low, and the probability of three specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is infinitesimally small. And yet, we see Acting Justice Merchan on all three cases,” Stefanik argued.
I doubt Stefanik’s complaint will go anywhere — this is New York, after all — but it’s another illustration of our descent into a despotic banana republic. A descent cheered on by the left, unsurprisingly.
