The Uncommon Advantage: Lawyers on Trump’s Jury
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| The Uncommon Advantage: Lawyers on Trump’s Jury |
In
an unexpected turn of events, at least two lawyers have been selected to sit on
the jury for Donald Trump’s trial. This development could potentially benefit
the former president, especially if his defense team plans to mount technical
legal arguments to try to win an acquittal.
The Rarity of Lawyers on Juries
Lawyers
are called for jury duty like anyone else, but they rarely serve as jurors.
It’s “totally uncommon” to see two or more lawyers on a single jury, said trial
consultant Charli Morris.
The Silver Lining for Trump’s Legal Team
In
a Manhattan jury pool that is largely seen as unfavorable to the former
president, Trump’s legal team might see a silver lining in having lawyers on
the jury. Lawyers are not emotional thinkers. The profession requires them to
do analysis, and emotional thinkers get more easily swayed by the side that
goes first, that tells a good story.
The Defense Strategy
Trump’s
defense team may be hoping that lawyers will be more receptive than laypeople
to a focus on legal arguments and technical issues. In the lead-up to the
trial, Trump’s surrogates sought to portray the charges — 34 felony counts of
falsifying business documents — as technical bookkeeping violations with no
discernible victim.
The Potential Pitfalls
Not
all lawyers fit the mold described by Davidoff and Dunkum. A common worry is
that people with legal expertise will do their own legal analysis, rather than
following the judge’s instructions. Lawyers — or aspiring ones — can also plant
landmines by misinstructing their fellow jurors.
Conclusion
The
presence of lawyers on Trump’s jury adds another layer of complexity to an
already high-stakes trial. Whether this will work in Trump’s favor remains to
be seen, but it certainly adds an intriguing twist to the proceedings.
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