Judge Grants Stay on Trump’s Trial Deadlines, Avoiding Potential Prison Sentence
In a highly anticipated decision, the Manhattan judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump’s trial has agreed to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the felony conviction proceedings against Trump. This move allows Trump to avoid a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison. The judge, Judge Juan Merchan, granted the request to consider the effect of Trump’s election as president, issuing a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date. Trump’s legal team had also filed a motion to vacate the charges.
Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which stemmed from a case about payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Earlier this year, Judge Merchan had already agreed to a four-month delay for the court proceedings, pushing the next steps until after the 2024 presidential election. He had set a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 12 to decide how to proceed.
Presidential Immunity in Court Convictions
The decision to grant the stay comes after a Supreme Court ruling in July, which stated that presidents should be granted a certain level of immunity in court convictions. Justices writing for a 4-3 majority explained that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from any actions taken within the scope of their “core constitutional powers” as commander-in-chief. They also stated that a certain level of immunity applies to other actions taken while holding office.
The Nov. 12 deadline set by Judge Merchan was separate from the sentencing hearing for the 34 convictions, previously scheduled for Nov. 26. This self-imposed deadline allowed him to consider Trump’s claims of presidential immunity and whether the Supreme Court’s ruling on the scope of immunity should apply at the state level.
Appealing the Convictions and Dismissing Charges
Even if Trump’s convictions were upheld, the president-elect has several avenues to appeal the case or get the charges dismissed before the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing, making it highly unlikely that he will face any time behind bars. One option would be to move the case from state to federal court, which Trump’s lawyers had previously attempted but failed to do. Given Trump’s status as president-elect, their request to elevate the case to federal court now carries more weight.
If that fails, Trump’s attorneys are likely to appeal the convictions before the sentencing hearing, using the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling as grounds to have the charges dismissed. They may also use the immunity claim to challenge portions of evidence used by prosecutors, including testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks.
Unlikely Imprisonment for Trump
Legal analysts and former prosecutors have widely dismissed the idea that Trump would face prison time for these convictions. Andrew McCarthy, a former U.S. prosecutor, wrote in a recent op-ed for Fox News Digital, “Understand, Trump is not going to prison even if Merchan metes out an incarceration sentence. Though the charges are felonies, they are not sufficiently serious under New York law to merit immediate detention; Trump will get bail pending appeal.”
Judge Merchan’s decision also raises the question of whether Trump should be submitted to state convictions as a sitting president, a question that has never been tested before. Trump’s legal team would almost certainly appeal any conviction to the Supreme Court if necessary. While federal convictions are shielded by longstanding Justice Department policy, the same precedent has not been applied to state convictions, giving Judge Merchan more leeway in deciding how to proceed.
Special Counsel’s Motion to Drop Election Interference Case
This decision from Judge Merchan comes just days after Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump in Washington, D.C. Smith had been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate the alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Though the charges have not been officially dropped, it appears that the special counsel is moving in that direction. Smith plans to provide an updated report on the status of the case against Trump on Dec. 2.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr has expressed the need for state and local prosecutors and judges to move on from the “spectacle” of prosecuting the president-elect.
