Mr. Trump can file an appeal to the Supreme Court over the hush money payment, but must wait for the end of the state proceedings.
Former President Donald Trump has called on the US Supreme Court to intervene in the prosecution against him in New York for allegedly falsifying business records to pay for concealing unfavorable information during his 2016 election campaign. Case highlights The lawsuit is to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels through lawyer Michael Cohen.
A Manhattan criminal court jury on May 30 found Mr. Trump “guilty” of all 34 counts in the indictment brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. Presiding judge Juan Merchan set the sentencing date for July 11.
“The day of my ‘sentence’, even though I have done nothing wrong, will coincidentally take place 4 days before the Republican National Convention,” Mr. Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social. The former president said that both the prosecutor and the judge in the case had a serious conflict of interest, so he did not support them making decisions that could determine America’s future.
“The Supreme Court must make a decision!”, Trump emphasized.
Answer the interview Fox News, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, also said that the Supreme Court should intervene. However, legal experts say that the possibility of the US Supreme Court taking action is low, and if it does, it will not be in the near future.
9 judges of the US Supreme Court in Washington in November 2022. Image: AP
For the Supreme Court to intervene, Trump’s lawsuit must complete its appeal in New York state, a process that is expected to take a long time.
“The Supreme Court may not want to accept the case and if it does, it may have to wait a relatively long time,” said Paul Collins, professor of legal studies and political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts. , speak
The legal process in New York requires Mr. Trump’s lawsuit to go through two state appellate courts before reaching the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court doesn’t just jump in and overrule state decisions before the appeal process begins,” said Ryan Black, a political science professor who studies Supreme Court decisions, University of California, Berkeley. Michigan State University, said.
First, Mr. Trump must file an appeal with the New York State Intermediate Court of Appeals. The litigation process at this level is unlikely to begin before 2025 and may have to wait until 2026 for a verdict.
“If the appeal at the intermediate appellate court is unsuccessful, Mr. Trump can bring the case to the New York Supreme Court, the highest court in New York state,” according to Collins.
“For the Supreme Court to intervene and stop the entire criminal proceeding, even without an appeal, would be an unusual move,” said Stephen Wermiel, a law professor at the University of Washington College of Law. American, Washington, commented.
The Supreme Court only handles matters of federal or constitutional law. Therefore, experts say that Mr. Trump’s legal team must be able to argue why the Supreme Court needs to act.
Wermiel suggested that one option for Mr. Trump’s legal team is to argue that the Manhattan criminal court was unfair to the former president, violating the 14th Amendment.
The 14th Amendment stipulates that no state shall make or enforce any law abridging the privileges or unalienable rights of American citizens. Nor can any state deprive an individual of life, liberty, or property without due process established by law.
According to Collins, another option is that Mr. Trump’s legal team could argue that the former president’s actions in 2016 should be considered under the Federal Election Act law.
Lucinda Finley, a law professor at the University of Buffalo School of Law, New York State, said that during the trial, Trump’s team should have raised constitutional issues. “But they only raised aspects related to state law, such as whether certain evidence should be admitted or whether Daniels’ detailed testimony was unduly prejudiced.”
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court, New York on May 28. Image: AP
One factor hindering Mr. Trump’s efforts is that the Supreme Court only accepts a small number of state-level criminal cases, less than 1%, according to Jerry Goldman, a political science professor at Northwestern University. , Illinois. And in the few cases that were accepted, most of the rulings from state courts were upheld.
“Therefore, the chances of Mr. Trump’s lawsuit being accepted by the Supreme Court and overturning the ruling are very slim,” Goldman added.
The Supreme Court is handling Mr. Trump’s appeal of the former president’s immunity from prosecution. The court will have to answer the question “whether a former president enjoys immunity from prosecution for acts committed while in office, and if so, to what extent.”
The court’s ruling will affect the two federal prosecutions that Mr. Trump is facing: conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election leading to riots at Capitol Hill and illegally keeping confidential documents after leaving. The White House. The two prosecutions were heard by federal courts in Washington and Florida.
The remaining two prosecutions, falsifying business records and paying hush money in New York and conspiring to overturn the election in Georgia, were not affected because they were only at the state level.