Jury selection is set to resume Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court, where dozens of prospective jurors are being questioned by prosecutors and lawyers for the defense in an effort to seat a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.
A pool of approximately 1,500 prospective jurors — all of whom are residents of Manhattan — were given notices to appear in court Monday.
The process had been expected to take a week or more, but seven were selected and sworn in on Tuesday, meaning a full jury could be seated by the end of the week.
➡️ Here’s how it works
Prospective jurors — 18 at a time — are called into the courtroom, where presiding Judge Juan Merchan reads a summary of the charges against Trump and asks them if they can be fair and impartial. The would-be jurors are also asked if they have any scheduling conflicts that would prevent them from attending every day of the trial, which could last more than six weeks.
Each prospective juror is then given a questionnaire with 42 questions that were negotiated and agreed upon by the prosecution and defense ahead of time.
✏️ Here’s that questionnaire:
❌ Who gets dismissed
Those who say they can’t be fair and impartial or have scheduling conflicts are likely to be dismissed. Those who remain are then questioned individually by lawyers from both sides who are allowed to reject 10 prospective jurors without reason.
For others, the attorneys can argue why they believe a would-be juror cannot be fair and impartial. Merchan has the final say.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly argued that the jury pool in the heavily Democratic city where Trump grew up has been tainted by publicity surrounding the case. Prosecutors have countered that would-be jurors can know about the case — they just need to keep an open mind.
🧐 What we’ll know about the jury once it’s selected
Not very much. Both sides will know the names of the jurors, but only lawyers for both the prosecution and defense will have access to their addresses. Trump — who has been admonished by Merchan for attacking prosecutors and court staffers on social media — is allowed to have their names but not their addresses. And he’s not allowed to reveal the jurors’ identities to the public.
The public may never know the names of the jurors. Last month, Merchan granted a request by the prosecution to shield them to avoid possible harassment.
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