Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.
Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.
As Justice #Merchan re-reads the #JuryInstructions, #Trump has had his eyes closed, & his chin has sometimes slumped to his chest. At other times, his head has been fallen backwards — just waiting for his mouth to drop open & let flies enter. #NodFarter
Merchan is now in the middle of p 17 of the instructions, explaining jurors can consider whether any #witness would benefit from his or her own #testimony. (hmm)
Justice #Merchan is now at the part of the #JuryInstructions where he’s describing “#AccessorialLiability,” the part that suggests the defendant doesn't need to have actively participated in the commission of the #crime to be found #guilty, as long as he in some way DIRECTED or INTENTIONALLY AIDED the #criminal conduct of someone else. In this case, that relates to the alleged falsification of business records.
The prohibition against jurors being provided a copy of written #legal instructions comes from a 1987 decision by the #NewYork Court of Appeals in #PeopleVOwens.
The court found that “the distribution of written instructions to the jury is not expressly authorized by #law, & error in such submissions cannot be deemed harmless,” meaning: providing instructions would result in a #conviction being #overturned.
Marc F. Scholl, who served in the Manhattan DA’s office for nearly 4 decades, specializing in white-collar crimes & appeals, said: “Recently, there has been some slight loosening about whether it can be done w/ the defense’s consent, but it remains a minefield that judges do not want to risk.”
Tues 29 May 2024 🧵
Good morning! It’s the last day of the #TrumpTrial before jury #deliberations.
Today Justice #Merchan will give #JuryInstructions. Then they will discuss the case among themselves for the first time; they have not been allowed to even discuss it w/each other as yet.
Closing arguments took place yesterday, & the lawyers will have no further opportunity to address the jurors before they determine whether #Trump is #guilty or not guilty of 34 felonies.
Justice #Merchan greets jurors & immediately begins reading the #JuryInstructions. He tells them the instructions will take ≥1 hr to get through. He explains that any changes in his inflection are not intended to send a message.
Merchan tells jurors that it is not his responsibility to judge the #evidence in the case. “It is yours,” he says. “You are the judges of the facts, & you are responsible for deciding whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty.”
Justice #Merchan is back on the bench. He says that the #jurors sent a second note at 3:51PM. The jurors have also asked to hear the judge’s #JuryInstructions again.
Justice Merchan says he will bring the jurors back into the courtroom, inform them that the lawyers are working on identifying the transcripts they feel are relevant to the jurors’ first requests & clarify whether they want to hear all of the jury instructions again — which would take an hour — or portions.
The #jurors returned, & Justice Merchan reads the 2 notes they sent aloud to them as they sit in the #jury box.
#Merchan says the readback of the relevant testimony, which has not yet been located, will take ~30 mins. He asks them whether they want to hear all of the #JuryInstructions again, or part of them. He says that they can discuss that in private.
Yesterday, Costello behaved so atrociously on the witness stand that Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to admonish him & the defense attorneys. Costello is due back on the stand
Tues afternoon, the #TrumpTrial will go into some dry legalities, as prosecutors & defense present to Justice #Merchan how they want the court to instruct the #jurors as they deliberate.
The 2 sides will lay out their arguments for #JuryInstructions as it prepares to weigh the charges against #Trump — 34 #felony counts of falsifying business records.
#Jury instructions are meant to translate #legal doctrine into intelligible language for the 12 laypeople who will decide the case.
Justice #Merchan asks the defense to argue on behalf of one of its many requests: to add the word “willfully” in 2 places to the #JuryInstructions on a federal #ElectionLaw which isn’t charged.
Defense proposes #JuryInstructions on campaign finance law “#FECA” (federal election campaign act) must include the word "willfully" to specify a #criminal violation.
The 34 falsifying business records charges against #Trump are #felony charges bc prosecutors say he used the false records to try to conceal a 2nd #crime.
That 2nd crime, prosecutors specified, is a violation of a state #ElectionLaw that forbids a person from seeking election by “unlawful means.”
There’s a long back & forth about prosecutors’ proposal that the #JuryInstructions include language suggesting it was “reasonably forseeable” that false records would be created as a result of #Trump’s conduct.
Justice #Merchan says that he’s inclined NOT to include it.
— that is not good, it’s specific to #NY#law.
But he reserves judgment for now, as he did on “willfully.”
Justice Merchan points out that the #felony charges of falsifying business records #Trump faces includes an #intent to conceal another #crime. The #law doesn't require prosecutors to show that Trump intended to orchestrate a #conspiracy, but rather that by falsifying business records, he intended to hide said conspiracy.
#Merchan says he will leave that instruction as is – a win for prosecutors.
Prosecution & defense argue whether the evidence at trial supported the idea that #Trump did enter a conspiracy w/ #Pecker & #MichaelCohen in 2015 to suppress negative stories during his presidential campaign.
(isn’t that for the jury to decide?)
Defense suggests that there was nothing #criminal about “participating” in that meeting, & that meeting w/ The #NationalEnquirer was simply “standard operating procedure” for campaigning. (Um, no)
Defense argues that to reach a #guilty#verdict jurors MUST not only to agree #unanimously that #Trump had falsified records to conceal a #conspiracy to win an election by unlawful means, but also jurors must be unanimous on what the #UnlawfulMeans are; making reaching a verdict nearly impossible.
Trump's attys argued that while that unanimity is not required by #law, Justice Merchan can use his discretion in asking for it.
After a break, Justice #Merchan tells the attys that they've gone through his concerns about #JuryInstructions & asks prosecutors & defense about theirs.
Merchan denies defense’s ask for instruction that NDAs not being illegal (no shit), & notes there’s been plenty of testimony to that point & they can argue it on summation.
And there it is, #Merchan signifies he’s losing patience w/ Bove as he continues to argue a decided issue. Bove insists it’s important, & generously Merchan gives him another chance to speak. But now Merchan repeats his previous decisions on the issue above is harping on, namely that #MichaelCohen was #Trump’s atty when the charged conduct took place.