Judge Merchan Must Lay Down The Law Tomorrow

[gab13by13]

Andrew Weissmann just said that if Merchan doesn't do to Trump what he would do to any other defendant then Trump is going to keep intimidating witnesses and jurors.

11 violations of the gag order, enough is enough, and Weissmann said there should be no consideration for the politics of putting Trump in jail, if that's what he wants, then give it to him.

[Prairie_Seagull]

1. Would/could the court try him in absentia,

If he gets his ass tossed in jail? Brings up some interesting conclusions if not.

[unblock]

3. See post #2

[Ms. Toad]

4. Why would it need to?

People who are imprisoned while awaiting trial are tried all the time. They get hauled to court, then hauled back to jail after the day's proceedings are over.

[Prairie_Seagull]

5. It will be interesting. Thanks. nt

[forgotmylogin]

31. If he's in jail, they'll bring him to court. Probably a shorter commute.

He's already been told if he is absent unexpectedly, a warrant for his arrest would be issued.

[unblock]

2. I think the judge already warned him the trial could proceed without him if need be

He has legal representation there so his rights would not be violated.

[BOSSHOG]

6. If Judge Merchan does the right thing

The Courthouse will be swamped with tourists.

[Think. Again.]

28. Ha! I doubt it.

[ecstatic]

7. I think Andrew even said it could be a quick timeout at the Court's inhouse pen.

Something. Anything.

That could be a great compromise if people fear putting him in a real jail.

[chicoescuela]

8. I don't believe the judge will ever confine tsf even with a conviction.

[triron]

10. Letting a 5 year old terrorize his family is not very wise.

[onenote]

9. I'm pretty certain Judge Merchan doesn't care what Andy Weissman or posters on social media think he "must" do.

And, like many others who have opinions on this, my prediction is that the Judge imposes fines, further clarifies the gag order, and makes it clear that jail remains an option if Trump continues to willfully violate the gag order.

I also predict that there will be DUers rushing to throw Judge Merchan under the bus if he doesn't seek jail time for Trump tomorrow.

[triron]

11. Fines are meaningless to Trump. Trump is spitting on the judge.

[ecstatic]

13. I won't throw him under the bus

because I think he's doing a fabulous job with keeping the trial on track.

That said, I really hope he jails trump tomorrow. My concern is that there are real people whose lives are being put at risk.

trump has to be shown that there are real consequences in order to finally comply.

[gab13by13]

15. Apparently you read my post the wrong way,

I'm not a legal expert by far but I have been saying what trump's strategy has been for years. Trump doesn't have the evidence to counter the prosecution, all that Trump has is intimidation, hoping that one juror backs him.

Have you ever had death threats against you for speaking truth to power? I did when I protected my community's water supply. Trump's strategy is to make everyone fear him.

Judge Merchan is a superb judge, I am glad he is in charge of this trial.

My untrained opinion is that Trump has been treated with kid gloves all of his life, including from the courts. Bill Barr, of course didn't prosecute "individual one," but neither did Merrick Garland.

The fines are nothing to Trump, the warnings are nothing, 11 violations of the gag order, how many more before he is held accountable? 20, 25, 30?

[onenote]

19. Has Weissman read the motion for sanctions filed by the DA?

Because it expressly seeks ONLY fines at this time. So maybe he has an issue with the DA, not Merchan. And, as a superb judge, it is unlikely that Merchan will impose a penalty that the DA didn't request.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000018e-e732-dee8-adaf-fff3228f0000

"Upon a finding of criminal contempt, the Judiciary Law authorizes a court to impose a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to sentence the contemnor to no more than 30 days' jail "or both, in the discretion of the court." Judiciary Law § 751. Here, this Court should impose the maximum $1,000 fine for each of defendant's three violations of the April 1 order..In addition, this Court should again admonish defendant to comply with his obligations under the order. And finally, this Court should warn defendant that future violations of the Court's restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days."

[Mr.WeRP]

25. Mrs. WeRP, an attorney agrees with you

She thinks Merchan will sanction without jail and warn of jail.

[Takket]

12. I expect a $10-20l fine.

But I don’t think the judge will ever jail him. Drumpf if too powerful and too many lawyers that will tie a conviction up on appeal for years if they want to argue the judge was unfair. Merchan doesn’t want to give any life to appeals so he will let drumpf slide.

[gab13by13]

18. The prosecution only asked for a 1,000 dollar fine.

[onenote]

22. $1000 per violation. The DA has cited 10 or 11 total violations.

[GenThePerservering]

14. There's the option of hanging Trump by the purse

Increase the fines and fine him for every single infraction. Sure, Trump doesn't pay his bills, but someone is going to have to and it'll isolate him further.

[onenote]

16. That isn't an option. The statute specifies a maximum fine of $1000 per violation. And the DA didn't seek to have Trump

sent to jail.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JustSecurityNY2016ElectionInterferenceCaseClearinghouse—DA-mem-of-law-support-motion-Trump-held-in-contempt-sanctioned-for-violating-gag-order-April-15-2024-entered-April-16.pdf

[Bev54]

17. He was talking about the jurors again in an interview tonight.

He won't stop because he is sure the Judge will not do anything other than possibly a small fine, which he will be ok with. I sure hope that Merchan buggars up his calculus.

[gab13by13]

21. I want a legal expert

to give me one good reason why Trump should be treated differently than me?

If Trump isn't stopped he can attack a juror that he doesn't like. Those jurors have families, they don't need to have to put up with Trump's threats.

[onenote]

24. I think DA Bragg is a legal expert and he's only seeking fines at this point.

I don't imagine any of us know if -- and how -- he would treat you under similar circumstances.

[yourout]

26. At this point everybody knows we have a two-tiered judicial system. It's time they just put it in writing

Just break out the fines and or penalties based on name and or financial portfolio.
Enough with the pretending that there's actually a one-tiered judicial system that treats everyone the same.

[Fiendish Thingy]

20. He's not going to but him jail tomorrow

And probably won’t ever.

He will likely fine him $11,000, and maybe, just maybe prohibit him from making social media posts. (Roger Stone had to threaten the life of a witness on social media before he got that restriction).

[gab13by13]

23. That won't work,

Michael Cohen explained why; Trump will just have someone else do the posts/threats. Fox News will do it for him, Jesse Waters already did.

[summer_in_TX]

27. I'm no legal expert here, but the judge probably doesn't want to prejudice the case.

That would give Trump ammunition to have a conviction overturned or have a mistrial declared.

So they won't arrest him or incarcerate him overnight or anything like that, I feel sure. Nothing that could be said to be putting their thumb on the scales of justice.

Neal Katyal had a creative suggestion and that would be to sentence him to jail but suspend the sentence (and allow him to behave his way out of the sentence). Katyal credited an unnamed state judge for the idea.

But since the DOJ specifically named a fine of no more than $1K per count, I think that makes sense as a first step with the possibility of jail (suspended) later.

[ancianita]

32. Fair points. Except the one

about the DOJ. A New York Supreme Court Justice isn't under DOJ jurisdiction, and Merchan can charge to any extent NY law allows.

Beyond that, Merchan can warn the criminal defendant that upon his very next public violation, this criminal court can order his arrest by US Marshals. The secret service at that point will stand down and just become the criminal's entourage.

[onenote]

35. How would a state court judge have authority to direct federal law enforcement to arrest someone for violating a state

court gag order?

[Think. Again.]

29. Maybe it's a good idea to just keep giving him all the rope he needs.

[LuvLoogie]

30. Stick him in a cold cinderblock and glass holding cell with a closed circuit feed

Fucking hell! He's a paper tiger! Propped up by a coddling media and his suckophants in congress. His MAGA "army" is emboldened by the sunshine everybody keeps blowing up their asses.

Bang that fucking gavel!

[Silent3]

33. Weren't we hearing all weekend how this Monday was going to be when Trump's gag order violations were dealt with?

Unless I missed it, nothing has happened yet. So we're waiting to see if Tuesday is slap-on-the-wrist and really-stern-warning day?

[onenote]

34. No. The hearing was never scheduled for Monday. It is scheduled for Tuesday.

You had bad information if you heard it was going to be Monday.

[hay rick]

36. Andrew Weissmann is clinging to the quaint notion of equal treatment under the law.

The justice system is rife with unequal treatment at lower levels where some are charged for crimes for which others receive warnings. Some are allowed to bond out and some are not. A fine that doesn't rise to the irritation level of a buzzing fly for one person can result in incarceration or losing a home for another person. Justice in our legal system is inherently approximate and extra-judicial considerations are common and sometimes beneficial to defendants or the general public.

Trump in court has done nothing but expose and humiliate himself. Trump in jail, even overnight, will give him fuel to feed the victimhood fire that he desperately wants. Trump getting away with childish misbehavior would be an appropriate takeaway from this trial. A wrist slap incarceration risks doing vastly greater harm than good. Equal justice before the law is a fiction in 2024 America. Sustaining that fantasy has a price.