As former President Donald Trump appears in a Manhattan courtroom as part of a civil trial that threatens his vast New York real estate holdings, legal observers are criticizing Trump’s legal team — including attorney Alina Habba — for putting Trump in a position he might have avoided.
Trump’s case is being decided by a judge, not a jury, because as Judge Arthur Engoron said, a jury trial was not requested by the defense. [NOTE: Whether a jury trial would have been available under New York Executive Law 63(12) isn’t clear, but the defense didn’t try to litigate the point.]
Here's my breakdown of the context behind that remark:
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 2, 2023
"Trump’s Civil Trial Has No Jury Because ‘Nobody Asked’ for One, Judge Explains" @TheMessenger https://t.co/FiIJBMIFyb
Even conservative commentators, especially those who don’t buy the MAGA message (see below), are hitting the former president’s legal team for leaving him to the mercy of a “leftist judge” who is deciding the case instead of a jury.
🤯 Trump used PAC funds from small donors to pay Alina Habba $1.4+ million this year. What did he get in return? She checked the wrong box and failed to get paperwork in on time for his fraud lawsuit – which is why a leftist judge is deciding the case in a not a jury. How do… pic.twitter.com/K4DME28xse
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) October 1, 2023
But Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) doesn’t believe that the Trump team’s legal move not to ask for a jury was a failure of omission, or an accident. Trump wants his case tried in the court of public opinion, not just in the official courtroom, Lieu understands — and the Congressman believes that Trump calculated in advance that he can disparage (and disembowel) the judge’s decision in a way he could not effectively disparage a jury’s decision.
By claiming persecution and mistreatment by a single “leftist” judge, Trump calculates, according to Lieu, that he score points in the court of public opinion even as he may lose in court.
Lieu on Trump neglecting to request a jury, writes: “This way Trump can keep falsely blaming the judge for the outcome.”
Trump has practiced the same disparagement with prosecutors, hammering special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — even though it was grand juries who technically indicted the former President. Juries — some in New York — have not been kind to Trump’s defenses. (See: E. Jean Carroll case.)
The former President and his legal team likely concluded a jury would find he committed fraud. This way Trump can keep falsely blaming the judge for the outcome. https://t.co/87qoyg04G9
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 2, 2023
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