The judge overseeing the so-called “hush-money” trial involving former President Donald Trump made several statements directly to the jury, saying that the former president should be found not guilty if the burden of proof isn’t met as he went over the rules of the trial on Monday.
“Whatever your verdict may be, it must not rest on baseless speculation,” Justice Juan Merchan told the jury on Monday as opening arguments in the case are due to begin. The jury’s verdict cannot be “influenced in any way” by personal bias, he said.
“I remind you throughout these proceedings that the defendant is presumed to be innocent,” he said, adding that “the burden of proof never shifts” from the prosecution to the defense.
“You must decide this case on the evidence,” Justice Merchan said in court, telling the 12 jurors and six alternates to remember that what lawyers and prosecutors say “is not evidence.”
Jurors were also told not to research the Trump case, he said, adding that they must report to the court any attempts from outside forces to influence them. They were also told not to communicate face-to-face or by any other means about the trial.
Jurors can bring all of their “varied life experiences” in evaluating witnesses’ credibility, the judge told the jury, adding, that “there is no particular formula” for evaluating the truthfulness and accuracy of witness testimony.
Witnesses may only testify to “matters they have personal knowledge of,” the judge also told the jurors, noting that they are not permitted to guess or speculate about what he or she thinks another person may have seen.
“As a jury, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community,” the judge added, according to reporters in the Manhattan courtroom.
Speaking to the six alternates, Justice Merchan noted: “An alternate juror is expected to pay the same close attention to the case as any one of the first 12 jurors.”
The panel was selected over several days, marking this as the first time the full jury has been together. It is also the first time jurors are seeing the courtroom packed with reporters. This is a departure from last week when the gallery was either full of prospective jurors or had empty seats, as the groups were whittled down, with only a few reporters allowed inside.
Also Monday, Justice Merchan ruled that if President Trump chooses to testify, he can be asked about the outcome of his recent civil business fraud trial, in which another judge found that the former president, along with his business and key executives, fraudulently inflated his wealth on paperwork used to secure loans and insurance. The former president has appealed the judge’s ruling.
The judge said prosecutors could challenge the former president’s credibility by questioning him about six legal determinations in four cases, including his $88.3 million in judgments for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
Strict limits will be placed on what prosecutors can question President Trump about regarding those cases, including prohibiting them from eliciting the amounts of the monetary penalties imposed, Justice Merchan said.
Before heading into the courtroom, President Trump addressed a camera in the hallway, again saying that it’s “unfair” he has to be there, rather than out campaigning. He once again cast the trial as a “witch hunt” and a “shame” aimed at damaging his campaign. “I’m here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning and it’s very unfair,” he said.
The former president also spoke at length about another hearing taking place at a nearby court, regarding the $175 million bond he paid in his civil fraud case.
In the New York case, prosecutors accused the former president of falsifying business records in order to allegedly bury negative stories about his personal life during the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has also denied a key claim at the center of the case: that he had an affair with adult performer Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Now a criminal defendant, the former president will instead spend the next several weeks subjected to strict rules that strip him of control over everything from what he is permitted to say to the temperature of the room.
In recent weeks, the New York prosecution has taken on added importance because it may be the only one of the four cases against President Trump that reaches trial before the election. Appeals and legal battles have delayed the other three cases.
