Former President Donald Trump has been in attendance at his criminal trial in a Manhattan courtroom where he faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents in an effort to cover up payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 president election.
A pool reporter in the courtroom noted that “when the defense is introduced to the potential jurors seated in the audience, Trump does not stand up like his legal team does to turn and face them.”
In my over 20 years practicing criminal law, I have never observed a defendant refuse to stand and face the jury.
Any competent lawyer would tell their client that his fate is in the jury’s hands and they will watch everything he does.
Trump’s disrespect for the jury is unwise. https://t.co/w8HLLHV8Tg
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 18, 2024
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti responded to the observation: “In my over 20 years practicing criminal law, I have never observed a defendant refuse to stand and face the jury. Any competent lawyer would tell their client that his fate is in the jury’s hands and they will watch everything he does. Trump’s disrespect for the jury is unwise.”
Beverly Hills criminal attorney Chris Rice agreed with Mariotti and replied: “Yep. 25 years in, and I don’t think I’ve seen it either.”
Attorney Chris Juravich of Houston, Texas added: “36 years in, and I’ve never seen it either. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met a judge that would tolerate this type of behavior. Obviously, rules and norms are foreign to this defendant.”
A Brooklyn attorney who is not a Trump supporter also commented, offering a potential explanation for the defendant’s anomalous behavior. The account ‘Andrew Esg’ posted a CNN report that contends Trump may simply be following Judge Merchan’s instructions when he remains seated.
According to CNN’s live updates from Day 1, it would seem that Judge Merchan may have instructed him to remain seated. I found this very odd as it would be the first time I’ve heard of such an instruction being made so wonder if @CNN misreported the judge’s rule. pic.twitter.com/KRYmdzrbiN
— Andrew Esq (@AhfriedFried) April 18, 2024