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Judge Murchan begins to instruct the jury
Members of the jury, I will now instruct you on the law.
The trial is increasingly moving towards its final phase with a judge Juan Mercan opening jury instructions.
He tells jurors that “these instructions will take about an hour.”
Key events
a judge Juan Mercan inow goes through the census with which Donald Trump is charged.
Remember: each number refers to a specific business record. During the trial, prosecutors provided a chart.
Merchan now looks at the definitions of words and phrases used in the law – enterprise, records, intent, etc.
a judge Juan Mercan‘c jury instructions on election law means that in principle some jurors might think so Donald Trump broke federal election law and others might think he was breaking tax laws with his inflated payout of Michael Cohen.
They don’t have to agree on exactly how he violated state election law — but if they are to be found guilty, they must unanimously agree that he did.
a judge Juan Mercan now explains the New York election law which Donald Trump is charged with a violation.
Murchan says the jury must be unanimous in determining whether he violated that state election law, but need not be unanimous on how specifically he violated campaign law.
a judge Juan Mercan now looks at how juries can determine whether a defendant intended to commit a crime.
In doing so, you can consider the person’s behavior and all the circumstances surrounding that behavior … what, if anything, the person did, or say … what result, if any, followed the behavior and whether that result was necessary, naturally and possibly a consequence of this behavior.
“A general intent to defraud any individual or entity is sufficient,” Murchan says of what jurors can consider when determining whether a defendant intended to defraud.
a judge Juan Mercan now explains the specifics of the law Donald Trump is charged with an offense – and the idea of how someone can be found guilty even if they have not directly broken the law themselves.
This occurs when “a person engages in conduct that constitutes a crime, another is criminally responsible for such conduct, when, acting in a state of mind necessary for that crime, he or she calls, demands, commands, urges, or willfully aids […] in this behavior,” he says.
To find a defendant guilty of committing a crime through others, “you must establish beyond a reasonable doubt, first, that he incited, solicited, ordered, caused, or willfully assisted the person to participate in that crime, and second, that he did that with the state of mind necessary for this crime…”
Donald Trump he seems to have replaced fatigue with thirst. He could be seen taking a few sips of water.
“Some of the Factors You May Want to Consider in Evaluating the Evidence of a Witness,” Judge Juan Mercan said include:
Was the witness’ testimony believable, likely to be true, or implausible, not likely to be true? Is the witness’ testimony consistent or inconsistent with other testimony in the case?
“Did the witness have a conscious bias, animosity, or any other attitude” that might influence the testimony? “Did the witness have an unconscious bias?”
“You can think about whether a witness had or might have had a motive to lie,” Murchan said.
You can consider whether the witness hopes or expects to benefit from […] testifying.
Like Juan MercanAs the instructions continue, courtroom observers are once again confronted with the dubious notion that all are equal before the law.
For example, court officers, in accordance with the courtroom judge’s orders, routinely alert the prescorpus that their phones must be put away. Phones are not visible at all, even on silent, so as not to expose anyone to being removed from the courtroom.
A few minutes ago, however, a noise broke out from a device that was in dispute for a Trump supporter. The noise appears to be coming from Trump’s lawyer Alina Khaba and Donald Trump Jr
Murchan looked that way and some court officials looked that way and there was a brief pause but no one said or did anything.
Those close to Trump routinely pull out their cell phones while sitting in rows behind him, even if they aren’t lawyers (most aren’t).
Jury Instructions – Which Judge Juan Mercan will not provide public copies of until he has finished his address to the jurors – go into details about how jurors can consider evidence.
with Michael Cohen, for example, he tells jurors that the former Trump adviser’s guilty pleas can be considered for context, but “you might not consider that in [deciding] whether the defendant is guilty or innocent”.
With some text messages, for example, they can also be used for context – not as evidence of innocence or guilt.
a judge Juan Mercan tells jurors that they shouldn’t read anything he says as indicating his opinion of the case—or the defendant’s innocence or guilt.
It is not my responsibility to weigh the evidence here. You are the judges of the facts.
Murchan says the possibility that Donald Trump going to jail is not something they should think about.
“You can’t speculate on sentencing or punishment issues,” Murchan said, saying it was “my responsibility” to determine that if there was a conviction.
A group of pool photographers took pictures of Donald Trump while sitting at the defense table.
There was crouching, craning of necks and stretching of arms in an attempt to get a picture of the former president that could be a turning point: Jurors are expected to decide his fate soon.
Judge Murchan begins to instruct the jury
Members of the jury, I will now instruct you on the law.
The trial is increasingly moving towards its final phase with a judge Juan Mercan opening jury instructions.
He tells jurors that “these instructions will take about an hour.”
a judge Juan Mercan entered the courtroom.
They have to be back in court at 10am – of course it’s past 10, but the court usually moves at its own pace or is late.
When the proceedings resume, a judge Juan Mercan will instruct the jury on the law, which is essentially a road map for how they should deliberate the case.
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