Jurors in the Manhattan criminal trial asked the judge to re-read jury instructions and allow them to re-hear portions of witness testimony as they continued deliberating Thursday, reviewing their notes and exhibits from weeks of lengthy testimony and pondering potential verdicts.
Retired federal trial judge Gregory Mize, a jury trial expert teaching at Georgetown University Law Center called juries "the best lie detector system ever invented."
"They're testing each other's memory, and they're challenging each other,” Mize told Salon. “And they're trying to persuade each other. Why their view might be the best and in that process, people change their mind. And you I believe it's just a beautiful process, where beliefs and assessments and credibility are challenged. You need to persuade or be persuaded about credibility. I can't think of any better way of getting to the truth.”
Here’s a run-down of what to expect as jurors deliberate for potentially days or weeks.
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WHAT VERDICTS COULD JURORS COME UP WITH?
Manhattan prosecutors have alleged that Trump disguised $130,000 in hush money as a legal expense as part of a scheme to keep information about alleged extramarital sex from voters and unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election.
In April 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that a grand jury indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump denies the charges, as well as the claimed sexual encounters.
Jurors are tasked with deciding whether Trump is guilty or not guilty on each of the 34 counts. Any verdict must be unanimous.
That means: we could expect any combination of verdicts, according to Adam Shlahet, director of the Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Center at Fordham Law.
“It's certainly possible that he could be found guilty of some of the 34 counts and not guilty of others of the 34,” Shlahet said. “Or he could be convicted of every single count or found not guilty of every single count.”
Jurors could also find him guilty on some counts, while not agreeing on others and coming to an impasse.
“So you could get a hung jury as to just a few counts,” Shlahet said.
WHAT HAPPENS IF JURORS ARE HUNG?
If jurors are hung on some counts, Shlahet said, then the "prosecution would have to decide whether or not they would retry him on those counts.”
“But if he's convicted of even one count, it's unlikely that they would retry him on the other counts,” he said.
Jurors could also hang on all counts.
If that happens, a judge could provide what are known as Allen charges – urging jurors to agree on a verdict.
“That they really should try to work through this and come to a verdict because there's been a lot of time and expense that has gone into the trial,” Fordham Law professor Cheryl Bader said. “We want jurors to make the decision and of course jurors want to be successful, want to reach a verdict.”
New York’s sample deadlock charges tell jurors: “Start with a fresh slate. Do not feel bound by how you felt before — whether you favored conviction or acquittal. Have the courage to be flexible. Be willing to change your position if a reevaluation of the evidence convinces you that a change is appropriate.”
“If they're a hung jury, the judge will call them in and he will give them further instructions, to really rethink all of your assumptions and get back to the deliberation room and try again,” Shalet said. “And he will do that as much as he can until he thinks that it's not useful. And then it's a hung jury, and then it's done."
A judge would declare a mistrial if the jury can’t come to a unanimous verdict.
Then prosecutors would have to decide if and when they want to bring the case again to a new jury.
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WHAT HAPPENS IF TRUMP IS CONVICTED?
Bader said it’s unusual but possible that right after the verdict is read, the defense or prosecution could ask for the jurors to be polled to “ensure that’s everybody’s verdict.”
“It’s very, very unusual for that not to be every juror’s verdict,” Bader said.
If Trump is convicted, the judge would schedule sentencing.
“And that could be a month, two months, could be longer if the parties feel they need longer,” Bader said. “That's something that the judge will work out with prosecutors and the defense.”
Each of the 34 count carries up to four years in prison — but legal experts say Trump would likely serve concurrently if convicted, and would likely face less than a four-year sentence given his lack of a criminal record.
Merchan himself said this week: "A prison sentence is not required for the changes in this case in the event of a guilty verdict."
Bader said prosecutors and the defense would then submit filings.
“They'll each submit their requests, submissions, pre-sentence documentation or advocacy pieces,” Bader said.
Bader said the probation department would also provide the judge with background information on Trump.
“Trump is a........