Who are the jurors on the jury in Trump’s hush money criminal trial?
Jury selection got underway this week in the first of four criminal trials Trump is facing and already he says he’s not getting a fair shake.
Nearly 100 New Yorkers were on hand for the start of jury selection on Monday for Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial. Half of them were excused on the first day after they said they couldn’t be impartial.
However, both the prosecution and defense were able to agree on seven jurors that they felt could render a fair and impartial verdict at Tuesday hearings making significant progress in a crucial phase of the trial. Five more must be chosen in the coming days, along with six alternates before the actual trial can commence.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, swore in the initial group of jurors and directed them to return to court on Monday morning prepared to hear opening arguments in the case. A new group of 96 potential jurors will come to court on Thursday for another round of jury selection.
Of four criminal trials Trump is facing, this one involves accusations that Trump falsified business records to cover-up hush money payments made to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels. The 34 charges became felonies since the prosecution is alleging that they were carried out to “commit another crime” which was violating election campaign finance laws.
Who are the jurors on the jury in Trump’s hush money criminal trial?
Prior to jury selection over 500 New Yorkers had been issued a lengthy questionnaire composed of 42 questions. The identities of the individuals are secret, only known to the court as well as the prosecution and defense teams.
However, some details are known about the seven panelists selected on Tuesday. The jurors that have been chosen so far include four men and three women. Five of them have a college degree or higher education. There are two lawyers among the seven jurors along with an English teacher, an IT worker, an oncology nurse, a sales professional and a software engineer.
They are of varying ages and none of them shared any specific views about politics or Trump. Only one juror said she wasn’t aware of the other charges against Trump.
Trump unhappy with jury selection; receives rebuke from judge
Trump is already complaining that he won’t get a fair shake from the jury taking to social media to spread false allegations. Judge Merchan also had to admonish the former president after he had been observed audibly mouthing something in the direction of a woman juror who had been asked about one of her past social media posts.
The judge told him that “I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom.” Trump’s lawyers chose to strike the juror in question with one of their peremptory challenges.
Trump also complained on his Truth Social account about the jury selection process claiming that he should have the right to strike as many potential jurors as he wants. New York law only allows his lawyers to strike 10 on peremptory challenges, whereby there is no need for a reason or explanation. However, each side can strike an unlimited number of potential jurors “for cause” but the judge can determine if the reason given is satisfactory.