- Trump’s secret trial in New York begins its second week of testimony on Tuesday.
- Every day, jurors parade in front of the most famous person on the planet – without looking at him.
- That’s actually a good sign for the justice system, veteran lawyers say.
Reporters at Donald Trump’s secret trial in New York continually monitor him.
They lean in to see the back of his head. A few point small binoculars at the courtroom’s overhead screens to better assess his expressions – and alertness.
But the 12 jurors and six alternates barely look at Trump as they walk past the defense table. At most, the eyes of one or two jurors may turn to Trump as they come in and out for breaks or for the day.
Likewise, Trump doesn’t seem to pay much attention to his jurors when they pass within six feet of him.
He will stand, like everyone else, at the cry of a bailiff: “Everyone, stand up!” The jury enters. » But either he murmurs with his lawyers, or he frowns indiscriminately into space as they pass.
This seems remarkable. Trump is the most famous person on the planet and jurors barely look at him, even from the jury box. Meanwhile, jurors hold his possible criminal record in their hands, but Trump doesn’t keep much eye on them either.
Business Insider described this strange mutual shyness to veteran Manhattan lawyers. They didn’t find it very strange at all.
In fact, they say, it could be a sign that, at least as far as the jury is concerned, the wheels of justice are turning as they should.
“I guess they don’t watch it because everyone on the jury has heard of Donald Trump, and they understand that this is a case that has worldwide attention,” said Diana Florence, a former prosecutor responsible for financial crimes in Manhattan.
Jurors don’t want to appear to be gawking at him, Florence and other attorneys said.
“They all took an oath to try the case solely on the evidence,” said Florence, who is now in private practice.
“So I think the fact that it’s such a bold name and they’re not looking at it is probably a good sign for our jury system,” she added.
“You don’t want to look like a fan boy or a fan girl” in front of a room full of journalists looking at you, acknowledged Jeremy Saland, another former Manhattan prosecutor.
“As a juror, if you nod in the direction of Trump, you’re in the papers,” Saland said.
How about nodding to the prosecutors?
“Jesse Watters says liberals infiltrated the jury,” he added.
Jurors did look at Gotti Jr. and El Chapo
Jeffrey Lichtman has represented numerous mobsters and drug lords during his career. He wonders if jurors might be too intimidated to look at Trump.
“I had John Gotti Jr. and El Chapo, and it doesn’t get more intimidating than that,” Lichtman said of two of his most famous clients.
“The jurors examined both them” he said. Gotti’s federal racketeering charges were dropped after a third mistrial in 2006, and El Chapo was convicted of drug trafficking and conspiracy charges in 2019.
“But I think they looked at them like they were animals in a zoo,” Lichtman conceded.
Still, it’s not uncommon for jurors to avoid looking at the defendant, Lichtman and other veterans of trial practice said.
More potentially significant, they said, is that Trump did not examine his jury, at least not with anything approaching respect and appreciation.
“It’s imperative that he stops with the ‘Blue Steel’ look,” Lichtman said.
“You want them to like you and you don’t want to intimidate them,” he said.
“You think you’re bothered by your presence? The jurors do too. It’s an inconvenience for them too.”
Donald Trump in court for his opening statements in his secret trial in Manhattan. Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images
It’s not enough for defense attorney Todd Blanche to assert in opening statements that Trump is “a person, just like you and me.” They need to try to show that to jurors, not just tell them, Lichtman said.
“It is very important for the jury to see the defendant and the attorneys laughing and smiling together throughout the trial,” Lichtman said.
“I was very clear about Gotti and El Chapo: I would approach them during the match and put my arm around them,” he said.
“You touch them, you humanize them,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone wants to look at a sullen guy’s face.”
No “resting frowny face”
Trump’s defense team is doing him a disservice by not convincing him to appear a little friendlier, other lawyers told Business Insider.
“They should tell him that a ‘resting sullen face’ doesn’t help him at all,” said Saland, the former prosecutor, now in private practice.
Lawyers should also “get him out of the courtroom,” Saland said.
Prosecutors alleged that Trump violated his order of silence at least 14 times over the past month by making statements targeting his jury and witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
A hearing on Manhattan prosecutors’ most recent contempt of court allegations is scheduled for Thursday morning.
For each violation, Trump faces fines of up to $1,000 and, less likely, jail time of up to 30 days.
A lawyer for Trump declined to comment for this story.
“They let him do what he wants,” Saland said of the defense team, noting that Trump had turned the trial into a campaign stop where he lashed out at his political enemies.
“After all, it costs a lot less to break the gag order at $1,000 a pop,” Saland said, “than to run a 30-second spot on the national news.”
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