Trump Trial to End Early on Day of Opening Statements Due to Juror’s Emergency Medical Appointment
With jury selection having been wrapped up last week, the first criminal trial of a former president of the United States got underway Monday morning at just about 9:30, when Judge Juan Merchan took the bench. Opening…
With jury selection having been wrapped up last week, the first criminal trial of a former president of the United States got underway Monday morning at just about 9:30, when Judge Juan Merchan took the bench.
Opening statements in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan were expected to take a little over an hour, with the prosecution’s statement slated to take almost twice as long as the defense’s, according to NBC News, which was providing live updates on the trial as the morning continued.
One of those updates was that alternate juror 6 — literally the last juror impaneled last week — had experienced a dental “emergency” and had scheduled an appointment for 3:00 this afternoon.
However, that appointment was moved up to 1:20, so Merchan declared that the Court would recess at 12:30, allowing her to make her appointment on time.
The Court was also scheduled for a short today Tuesday, planning to finish up at 2:00 p.m. for Passover.
Other “live updates” from NBC included the facts that none of Trump’s family members appeared to be present in the courtroom, but that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg