A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial

NEW YORK (AP) — donald trumpis making history criminal trial is set to begin Monday with a simple but extraordinary procedural step that is vital to American democracy. A group of ordinary citizens — Trump’s peers, in the eyes of the law — will be chosen to decide whether the former president of the United States is guilty of a crime.

The process of choosing a jury it can take days. Lawyers on both sides of the case will have limited opportunities to try to shape the panel in their favor, but the court’s goal will not be to ensure that there is a partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans, or that it is made up of people unrelated to previous news coverage about The judgement.

The idea is to get people who are willing to put their personal opinions aside and make a decision based on the evidence and the law.

Here are some of the factors that will go into jury selection:

Who can be on the jury?

This jury will only be made up of people who live in Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York City. All English-speaking U.S. citizens over the age of 18 who have not been convicted of a crime are eligible to serve as jurors in New York. Court clerks identify potential jurors from lists of registered voters, taxpayers, driver’s license holders, public benefit recipients, and other sources.

The group of potential jurors for Trump’s trial will have been chosen at random. People can volunteer to serve as jurors, but they cannot choose which trial they serve on.

What if a juror doesn’t want to serve?

Jury service is mandatory, but you can be excused for a variety of reasons, including financial or medical hardship.

How will the jury be chosen?

Judge Juan M. Merchan You will begin by bringing a large group of potential jurors to your courtroom. He will then briefly summarize the case and introduce the defendant, Trump, to the jury. The judge will then ask potential jurors a critical question: Can they serve and be fair and impartial? Those who cannot will be asked to raise their hand. For this trial, jurors who indicate they cannot serve or be fair will be dismissed.

Those who remain will be called in groups to the jury box, where they will be asked 42 questions, some with multiple parts.

Lawyers on each side will have a limited number of strikes that they can use to exclude potential jurors they don’t like without giving a reason. They can also argue that a particular juror should be dismissed, but they need to get the judge to agree to dismiss that person.

The process continues until 12 jurors and six alternates are chosen. Larger groups of potential jurors can be brought into the courtroom if necessary.

What questions will the jurors be asked?

The judge will not allow attorneys to ask potential jurors whether they are Democrats or Republicans, who they voted for or whether they gave money to a political cause. But there are multiple questions that aim to find out whether people are likely to be biased for or against Trump.

Between them:

“Do you have any political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions that might prevent you from following the court’s instructions about the law or that might distort your approach to this case?”

“Have you, a relative, or a close friend ever worked for or volunteered for a Trump presidential campaign, the Trump presidential administration, or any other political entity affiliated with Mr. Trump?

“Have you ever attended a Donald Trump rally or campaign event?”

“Do you currently follow Donald Trump on any social media sites or have you done so in the past?”

“Have you, a relative or a close friend ever worked or volunteered for an anti-Trump group or organization?”

“Have you ever attended a rally or campaign event for an anti-Trump group or organization?”

“Do you currently follow any anti-Trump groups or organizations on any social media sites, or have you done so in the past?”

“Have you ever considered yourself a supporter of or belonged to any of the following: QAnon Movement, Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, Three Percenters, Boogaloo Boys, Antifa.”

The judges will be asked what podcasts and radio shows they listen to and where they get their news.

Will the public know the identities of the jurors?

The judge ordered that jurors’ names be kept secret, an unusual but not unheard of step in trials where there is a possibility that jurors could end up being harassed or threatened during or after the trial. There is nothing to stop jurors from voluntarily speaking about their experiences after the trial is over. While it is pending, they should not talk about it with anyone.

What will this jury decide?

Jurors in this trial will hear testimony and decide whether Trump is guilty of any of the 34 counts of falsifying business records. The decision to convict or acquit must be unanimous. If they cannot agree on a verdict, the judge can declare a mistrial. If jurors have reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty, they should acquit him. If they convict him, it will be the judge who decides the sentence, not the jurors.