Trump’s packed legal calendar suggests NY guilty verdict may be the least of his problems

01.06.2024 17:58

Raw Story

After former President Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts in his New York criminal trial, all eyes are on Judge Juan Merchan as he prepares to sentence the 45th president of the United States on July 11. But even then, Trump's legal woes will be far from over.

NBC News recently summarized the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's remaining criminal cases, which could mean Trump is stuck in a courtroom once again in 2024 right during the crucial weeks of the general election campaign cycle. Trump still has one state-level indictment to contend with, along with two federal cases brought by Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith.

The likeliest remaining prosecution to result in trial proceedings before the election would be Trump's DC election interference case. However, that will depend largely on whether the Supreme Court rules in Trump's favor as it hands down a ruling in his criminal immunity case later this month. Should justices side with Trump, Smith's entire indictment would be thrown out. But if it rejects his claims of absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan could then schedule a trial date by August or September, as she has indicated both sides would get two to three months to prepare for trial proceedings.

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And even if the Court upholds the DC Circuit Court of Appeals' prior decision rejecting Trump's argument, it could still remove two of the four counts Trump is indicted on if it sides with the plaintiffs in Fischer, Joseph W. v. United States. That case involves a January 6 defendant challenging the legality of the charge of "obstructing a criminal proceeding" when he attacked Capitol Police during the insurrection. Judge Chutkan initially scheduled a March 4 trial date, but was forced to postpone it due to Trump's various appeals to the DC Circuit and the Supreme Court.

Trump's classified documents case in the Southern District of Florida is considered the most ironclad of the remaining cases against him due to the wealth of evidence Smith has accumulated. According to NBC, some of the 37 felony charges Trump has been indicted on carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who Trump appointed to the bench in 2020 — has scuttled the initial May 20 trial date, citing a backlog of pre-trial motions she has yet to rule on that she says could take her until late July. Smith could petition the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees Cannon's court, to reassign the case to another judge.

"The Court ... determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture—before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA [Classified Information Procedures Act] issues remaining and forthcoming—would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court, critical CIPA issues, and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury," Cannon wrote in her order postponing the trial.

Trump will likely not have to worry about Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference case until next year at the earliest, or 2029 at the latest if he wins a second term in November. The Georgia Court of Appeals decided earlier this month to hear Trump's appeal of Judge Scott McAfee's decision to allow Willis to remain on the case as prosecutor, after defense lawyers' effort to remove her over her past relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade failed.

According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein, the earliest Trump's appeal would be decided would be in March of 2025. And if the court rules in Willis' favor, McAfee would likely schedule a trial date for summer of next year. However, Trump's attorneys have argued that if their client is elected to a second term in the White House, any trial proceeding in Georgia would have to wait as the business of governing would take precedent. That would mean Trump wouldn't actually stand trial in Georgia until the end of the decade.

Click here to read NBC's article in its entirety.