Trump New York hush money criminal trial

We begin Day 3 of former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial with seven jurors seated. The prosecution and defense have both used six peremptory strikes to remove jurors so far. They both have four strikes left.

What strikes are used for: “There are some people that you think, maybe the other side is going to strike them, therefore, I can spare my strike,” Richard Gabriel, a jury consultant, told CNN. “So you’re prioritizing who are your most high-risk individuals, and then trying to eliminate them to basically reshape the pool a little bit, so you get the most advantageous hearing.”

Both sides are looking for different things, Gabriel added. He said the prosecution is looking for a consensus jury — a group of people that will get along and come to a unanimous verdict. Meanwhile, the defense is looking for high-conflict jury — one that will not get along because even if one juror doesn’t agree with the verdict, it’s a win for Trump, Gabriel said.

Attorneys can also argue to strike jurors for cause, which the defense did successfully twice on Tuesday. 

Social media posts are playing a pivotal role: While the jurors in this case are anonymous to the public, the lawyers were given the identities of the first panel of 96 prospective jurors on Monday. That gave Trump’s team the chance to mine their public social media postings to be ready for their challenges to the judge. Trump’s legal team challenged prospective jurors on their ability to be impartial in the proceedings based on their past social media posts. 

Judge is tired of this approach: While Judge Juan Merchan struck two potential jurors for cause based on their social media posts, he noted that this cannot happen with every juror. “If you have the goods on someone you need to politely and respectfully” ask them about it, he said.