After two and a half days, a full jury of twelve has been selected for Donald Trump’s New York City hush money prosecution.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1486337
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1486337
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In keeping with that strategy, his attorneys used their ten peremptory challenges to disqualify jurors who, under their rubric, were biased, but which Merchan declined to remove. In keeping with that strategy, his attorneys used their ten peremptory challenges to disqualify jurors who, under their rubric, were biased. Merchan had declined to remove several of them after unsuccessful for cause challenges from Trump.
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Excellent take on this. It’s annoying that there’s this idea that people who have any opinion (which everyone basically does) cannot be impartial. It feels like that shifts the balance against jurors who are being truthful. So the only way to get on is to pretend you’ve lived under a rock for 10 years. I distrust those people more than those admitting they have feelings but believe in their ability to be impartial.
The presence of social media posts is an interesting quirk. I mean, yes, it’s useful to weed out bias. But OTOH, before social media existed, the court didn’t interview potential jurors’ friends and family to see if they were telling the truth about being impartial. So, it’s sort of the same thing? I mean, you can probably find questionable posts from anyone if you look hard enough. (Unless they stay off all social media, which is a better and better option, frankly, but most people use it.)
Anyway, glad the judge has pushed back on this to some degree.
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Two questions:
Is Tommy Lee Jones his lawyer?
and
Does he know is lawyer is looking at him like that?
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In the rush to publish the piece, someone forgot to proofread. 
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First draft of history and all that…
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Trump would only be satisfied if every member of the jury came in wearing MAGA clothing and accessories and swooned in his presence. It’s like how he approaches elections. If any voter isn’t for him, that voter is illegitimate.
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Any system that does not work for Trump is a bad system. People make decisions all the time that set aside personal feelings.
Personally, I do not like Hillary Clinton. I find her personality as presented overwhelming and loud. But I know she is damn good at what she does and would vote for her if she were the democratic candidate. I can set aside my discomfort with the personality and look to the facts as they apply to the task.
Trump does not believe that is possible. Honestly, since he has pretty much scorched all points involved in the legal system, I would like to hear what his alternative idea leading to fairness is.
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He is just posturing to give his “I was railroaded” stand-up comedy speech after his conviction.
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That’s gotta hurt.
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Todd Blanche is the attorney and he scowls in pictures that I’ve seen.
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“Someone forgot to proofread.” And your point is?
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‘“You ask jurors, how do you like sex abusers?” Merchan mused. “And the answer is nobody likes them.”
Trump was found liable for sexual assault earlier this year in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.’
I may end up really liking Judge Merchan. JM talks, accurately alas, about how so many people who get into Trump’s proximity immediately become stupider. Judge Merchan may be completely immune, and oh my, what a difference it can make.
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The D.A. doesn’t want the defense to know who the first three witnesses are. Trump is the worst client in history. His attorneys need to take his phone or disable it. They won’t.
Next issue: Steinglass inquires for the record the court’s preference for potential witnesses to be present for other witnesses’ testimony.
This is the first Blanche is hearing of it, so he requests the names of the first three witnesses. Steinglass says that’s usually a courtesy, one he doesn’t want to extend bc Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses. Merchan says he can’t fault them for that, won’t order it.
A pool reporter had a bit more context on that last exchange over witnesses:
“What if I commit to the court that president trump will not” post Truth posts about witnesses, Blanche says. “I don’t think you can make that representation,” Merchan replies.
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I was in NYC today. Damn it was cold and I was under dressed. What idiot would wear shorts in the city on April 18th. Anyway no even noticed or remarked as I went building to building escorting my spouse to doctors appointments. New Yorkers just take it all in stride. Nothing to see here. More newsmen that onlookers or God forbid protesters. Just another man on trial.
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Shorter Trump’s lawyers: “But everybody in New York hates our client. There’s no way he can get a fair trial.”
Judge Merchan: “Everybody has plenty of reason to hate him, amirite? That doesn’t mean they can’t be unbiased in this case.”
One of the reasons everyone hates and despises Trump is that we all know that Trump, unlike normal people, could never even imagine treating someone he doesn’t like fairly.
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Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.
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Thanks for this. As a State employee in my state’s capital, I ended up being on eight different juries (the circumstances mean a lot of civil servants are in the jury pool). Once I was an alternate and had to sit through the whole trial and pay attention in case I needed to replace someone, but couldn’t be in the jury room during their deliberations. I was surprised when the jury didn’t come back with the verdict I was certain they would have chosen. But, having experience on the other side of those closed doors, I knew that someone was persuaded by the reasoning of someone else during their discussion and never thought they were stupid or crooked or anything but honest people doing their best to follow their instructions and be fair. I’ve alway wished that I’d heard what the counter arguments were, though.
Once I was the foreman, and I took that very seriously and made sure that every single person in the room, even the shy ones, got to say what they thought about any of the items before we voted. I never served on any jury where I didn’t think about what others offered even if I didn’t change my mind.
My husband was only on one jury, many years ago, and he told me it really pissed him off that he had to vote not to convict even though his gut told him “the guy was guilty” because he honestly didn’t think the prosecutor proved his case, and that several other jurors felt the same way. They followed their instructions about what they could consider and acquitted the defendant.
We have to hope the prosecution has the goods to support the charges and that the particular people on the jury will sincerely look at all of it and honestly set aside whatever their feelings about this defendant are to render the right verdict. Whether a juror admires him or loathes him, we have to count on no one ignoring their duty.
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TSF’s attorneys need to SMASH his phone with a hammer, in front of the judge, to demonstrate they can, to a degree, control their client.
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Any chance you live in Juneau, AK?
Seems like a perfect location for the situation you describe.
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