In a singular moment for American history, the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins Monday with jury selection.
It’s the first criminal trial of a former commander in chief and the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial. Because Trump is the presumptive nominee for this year’s Republican ticket, the trial will also produce the head-spinning split-screen of a presidential candidate spending his days in court and, he has said, “campaigning during the night.”
And to some extent, it is a trial of the justice system itself as it grapples with a defendant who has used his enormous prominence to assail the judge, his daughter, the district attorney, some witnesses and the allegations — all while blasting the legitimacy of a legal structure that he insists has been appropriated by his political opponents.
Against that backdrop, scores of ordinary citizens are due to be called Monday into a cavernous room in a utilitarian courthouse to determine whether they can serve, fairly and impartially, on the jury.
What’s the penalty for claiming to be impartial but not actually being impartial?
Who the fuck are they going to find to be both unaware and imparcial on this?!
A surprising amount of people are blissfully unaware of anything remotely related to politics, even if it directly impacts their life. As an example, one of my friends (NYC) has very liberal views but has been otherwise parroting that his trials are a sham because that’s what her Fox News watching father tells her.
We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world; and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men every day who don’t know anything and can’t read.
~Mark Twain
Good to hear that they’re not unrealistically expecting the jurors to have never heard of Trump or the charges. Seems like they’re focusing on making sure people can set aside their beliefs and rule on the facts.
“Do you have any strong opinions or firmly held beliefs about former President Donald Trump, or the fact that he is a current candidate for president, that would interfere with your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?” asks one question.
Still that’s a pretty tall order. I’d have to answer something like, “I believe that Trump is a massive douche and a conman. With that being said, if he really didn’t bang a pornstar with his little mushroom peepee and then fraudulently pay her to cover it up, well I’ll be damned. I guess I’d give him a pass.”
I wonder if the judge will also do something about Trump violating the gag order.
Seems unlikely.
Enjoy the show, I guess. Just don’t expect anything to come of it.
If an actual impartial jury can be found, it might restore the slightest, most insignificant trust I once had in the “justice” system.
