The biggest news story in the nation comes from the conviction of former President Donald Trump in the New York “hush money” trial. Every media outlet has covered it nonstop since the jury decision was announced and Democrats have shouted in glee over the decision.
What happens next remains to be seen. Trump is set for sentencing just days before the Republican National Convention where the GOP presidential nominee will be decided. No one knows how the anti-Trump judge presiding over the case will rule when it comes to jail time.
Alan Dershowitz, a noted attorney and constitutional scholar, believes he knows exactly what will happen. The nation is facing a situation that has never been a part of the U.S. judicial and political systems.
From the Daily Caller:
“I don’t know whether the case will be reversed on appeal. I don’t think it would be reversed by the appellate division,” Dershowitz continued. “These are judges who are terrified of being perceived of as helping Trump in any way.”He believes the appellate judges are as biased against Trump as the jurors. A Manhattan jury of five women and seven men convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsification of business records Thursday after nearly 12 hours of deliberations.
Dershowitz characterized the conviction as another step toward the nation’s judicial system functioning like a third-world country where political power trumps the rule of law.
“This is a very sad day for American justice. I have now added one banana to my usual banana republic: A grouping, umm, we’re up to seven or eight at this point- and it’s a worse day for America than it actually is for Donald Trump,” Dershowitz said.
The Harvard Law professor emeritus doesn’t know what the final impact will be on Trump when it comes to his electoral prospects. He believes Trump will not get jail time, but if the court does order jail time Trump will likely be free pending an appeal.
Dershowitz added that since Trump was convicted, he should wipe the slate clean with new legal counsel heading into an appeal.
From Newsmax:
“I’m going to predict that the first thing Trump does is fire his lawyers, which he should have done before the trial rather than after the trial,” Dershowitz said. “His lawyers did not do a good job. And what worries me, as an appellate lawyer, is that they didn’t do a good job preserving the record for appeal. They focused exclusively on the trial, which is what many trial lawyers erroneously do.”
He said it would be difficult for Trump to win on appeal since his lawyers didn’t create a record for appeal. There were issues of a missing witness and the failure to allow expert witness testimony.
“I can tell you, I was in the courthouse enough, and I know enough about this to know this was not a distinguished performance by a great defense lawyer. Trump could have gotten a lot better and I hope he gets a lot better on appeal,” Dershowitz added.
Key Takeaways:
- Alan Dershowitz doubts Trump conviction will be overturned by appellate judges.
- The constitutional scholar said the judges are “terrified” of helping Trump.
- Dershowitz said Trump should fire his lawyers to prepare for a difficult appeals process.
Source: Daily Caller, Newsmax
