The Uncommon Advantage: Lawyers on Trump’s Jury

 The Uncommon Advantage: Lawyers on Trump’s Jury

 

 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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