A group of 18 potential jurors have been called into the jury box.
Day 1 of Trump New York hush money trial
By Kara Scannell, Jeremy Herb, Maureen Chowdhury, Kaanita Iyer, Aditi Sangal and Elise Hammond, CNN
Updated 9:30 a.m. ET, April 22, 2024
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18 potential jurors have been called into the jury box
More than half of 96 prospective jurors let go from first panel after saying they couldn't be fair and impartial
More than half of the prospective jurors in the first batch of 96 people have been excused after saying that they couldn't be fair and impartial. The press pool estimates at least 50 people were let go for that reason.
Judge Juan Merchan asked potential jurors to raise their hands if they believed they cannot be fair and impartial. He then began excusing those jurors one by one.
"Please raise your hand if you're unable to serve on this jury for any other reason," judge asks potential jurors
Judge Juan Merchan has moved on to his second question for potential jurors.
He asked the jury pool, "Please raise your hand if you’re unable to serve on this jury for any other reason."
Judge to prospective jurors: Please let me know If you cannot be "fair and impartial" in the trial
"If you have an honest, legitimate, good-faith reason to believe you cannot serve on this case or cannot be fair and impartial, please let me know now," Judge Juan Merchan told the prospective jurors.
Judge lists people who could be involved in trial, including Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon
Judge Juan Merchan just read off the names of more than 40 people who could be involved in the trial. The list included:
- Members of the Trump family
- Michael Cohen
- Rudy Giuliani
- Steve Bannon
- Hope Hicks
The judge noted that not all of them will be witnesses but their names could be raised at trial.
Prospective jurors occupy every available seat in the courtroom gallery
From pool reports
Prospective jurors occupy every available seat in the courtroom gallery and the jury box.
Many sit attentively as Judge Juan Merchan informs them of the basics of the case and runs through standard instructions that he said would take about 30 minutes.
It's a diverse cross-section of Manhattanites. The first panel consists of 96 people. Merchan said a total of about 200 jurors are in the courthouse for possible selection to the Trump case.
More than a dozen court officers stand sentry along the wood-paneled courtroom walls and in the aisle between the rows of wooden gallery benches where jurors sit. One man in the jury box gazed back toward the gallery, studying the prosecution’s support team, which includes a desk with several computers a few feet from the jury box.
Trump sitting with his arms folded as judge reads potential juror instructions
As the judge is reading instructions to the potential jurors, Donald Trump is sitting back in his chair with his arms folded across his body.
This will be a tough jury pool for Trump, former US attorney says
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
The jury selection process for the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump will be tedious and the questionnaire involved is a key tool in weeding out potential bias, CNN legal analysts said.
"A lot of it is very typical in terms of where you're from, etcetera, but not questions about who you voted for," CNN chief legal analyst Laura Coates said.
Attorneys do want to know the jurors' views on the case and also their media sources, she noted —which could be pretty reflective of who they are, their beliefs are on a particular issue and also their political activity, "whether you or someone in your actual circle, not just you alone, has attended a rally either for Trump or anti-Trump."
Potential jurors can be removed based on strikes and challenges to answers to the lengthy questionnaire. Also each party involved in the case will have the opportunity to dismiss 10 jurors based on a peremptory challenge — meaning they can remove a juror without any reason or explanation, Elie Honig, former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York, explained to CNN.
And finally, the big elephant in the room will be the election. "This is a tough jury pool for Donald Trump," Honig noted. "This is a jury pool loaded against Donald Trump — politically." Honig continued that in Manhattan, New York County, Trump only got 12.3% of the vote in 2020. "Important to remember, no Bronx, no Queens, no Staten Island, no Brooklyn here. This is Manhattan and Manhattan only."
Judge to potential jurors: "You alone are responsible for deciding" if Trump is guilty or not guilty
Judge Juan Merchan told the jury pool they alone are the judges of facts in this case.
"It is not my responsibility to judge the facts here. I do not decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. You alone are the judges of the facts and you alone are responsible for deciding whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty," he said.
He went on to explain that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution and that Trump is not required to prove anything.
