Former President, Donald J. Trump, is in the news again. This time it is because he has been indicted in New York by a Grand Jury. Before you read any more you should know that the purpose of this article is not to discuss politics or the merits of the case against Trump, but to explain what’s going on. For purposes of full disclosure, Trump has been indicted in New York and I am a Georgia Attorney, there are some differences in criminal law between the two states, but the overarching processes are very similar as they are in most states and the purpose of this article to explain those processes.
At this point, Trump has only been indicted. This means that a grand jury, which is usually made up of 24 jurors has decided that there is enough evidence to go forward with the prosecution. Grand jury proceedings are meant to be a safeguard to prevent frivolous charges from being bought against a defendant. The process, however, does not present much of a challenge for the prosecution. During the proceedings, the prosecutor is allowed to present evidence to the grand jury, normally without the defendant or the defendant’s attorney present. This means that the Grand Jury hears only from the prosecution. Moreover, a grand jury’s decision, unlike that of a trial jury, a grand jury does not have to be unanimous in its decision to allow charges to be brought. Depending on the jurisdiction it only takes two-thirds or three-fourths of the grand jury members to allow the prosecution to move forward.
Trump was scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, April 5, 2023. Arraignment is where the defendant appears in court to have the charges formally brought against them. This is typically where the case gets going. At this point, the parties begin to exchange discovery and usually begin discussing plea deals. Discovery is the process of both sides of the case, the Prosecution and the Defense, going the through the evidence. The Prosecution will present evidence that the defendant committed the alleged crime, and the Defense will either attempt to discredit the Prosecution’s evidence or present its own evidence that the Defendant did not commit the alleged crime. There are several sets of rules which govern what evidence is admissible and a variety of actions may be taken by either side during this time to affect the outcome of the case.
Most criminal charges end during this stage and do not make it to a trial. Trials are a costly and time-consuming process for the prosecution and present a real high-risk situation for the defendant. This means that both parties are usually eager to avoid trial if they can. A plea is reached once both parties are satisfied with the terms of the plea. This normally involves a reduced sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Prosecutors are more or less happy with a guilty plea and the defendant is more or less happy with a reduced punishment. In some situations, however, the case will go to trial before a jury. This jury is different from a grand jury for a few reasons. For one, a trial jury is always made up of twelve people (except in Louisianna). For another, the decision of a trial jury must be unanimous. This is usually an advantage for the Defense in the sense that they only need to convince one of the jurors that the defendant is not guilty. If the jury cannot reach a decision, this will result in a hung jury and the prosecution must decide whether the case is worth taking to trial again.
If the jury decides that the defendant is not guilty then the case is over and the defendant is free to go. If the jury decides that the defendant is guilty then the judge will sentence the defendant according to sentencing guidelines which are written into the criminal code. The prosecution will usually ask for a longer sentence while the Defense will ask the court to sentence the defendant on the lower end of the guideline. After the trial is over, both sides have a length of time in which they may appeal the decision based on a variety of reasons.
Trump is not the first president to face criminal allegations, although he is the first to be indicted. President Richard Nixon was alleged to have been in on the Watergate Scandal which was a conspiracy to spy on political rivals in the 1970’s. In the 1990’s, President Bill Clinton faced various criminal allegations involving claims of banking crimes as well as sexual misconduct allegations. None of these charges resulted in an indictment but Clinton was eventually impeached by the House of Representatives for lying to a grand jury. He was not, however removed from office by the Senate. It is far too early to tell which way Trump’s criminal proceedings will go. For one, we do not know at this point what he is actually charged with as such information has been kept proceeding. Why this has been done is unclear and it is not a typical thing in criminal cases. But this is obviously a unique case, and it will be interesting to see what comes of the proceedings.