Can Trump still go to jail?

Donald Trump’s return to the White House effectively closes two cases against him involving federal criminal charges.

The state case against him for allegedly conspiring to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 elections will be put on hold until after his term ends — if it still exists by then.

But next week, the fate of the rest of the case – he was convicted of 34 felonies in New York – will be determined. It can stand, or it can be swept away by the same political and legal tide. made him escape from the others.

Judge Juan Merchan will decide on Tuesday whether to grant Trump’s request before the election to vacate his conviction. If Judge Moqian sides with Trump, his criminal woes will all but be wiped away.

But if the judge upholds the verdict, he will conduct sentencing later this month. That could trigger more delaying attempts by Trump and open an unprecedented new front for the U.S. criminal justice system.

“This is really uncharted territory,” said Anna Kominsky, a professor at New York Law School.

In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records. The convictions stem from Trump’s attempts to cover up reimbursements to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who bribed an adult film star in 2016 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

Trump’s lawyers argue that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting the president a degree of immunity from criminal prosecution applies to certain aspects of his case in New York, so the indictment and conviction should be thrown out.

During the trial, Judge Murchin rejected an attempt by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. But that was before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor this summer — and before Trump decisively won re-election.

Judge McCann sets deadline A decision will be made on November 12 whether to approve Trump’s request.

If he quashed the conviction, the case would be over.

But if he rejects the defense’s request, Trump’s long-delayed sentencing will still be scheduled for November 26.

Even if Judge Merchants upholds the verdict and upholds the original sentence, the Trump team will almost certainly seek more delays and appeals.

Trump’s top lawyer, Todd Branch, did not respond to inquiries about whether he planned to seek a delay.

Because Trump will be tied to the presidential transition and the legal issues surrounding sentencing the president are complex, some scholars believe there is little chance it will remain on the calendar.

“I think the most likely outcome of the state’s case is that the judge delays sentencing until after Trump is in office,” said Daniel Charles Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School.

“The actual imposition of a sentence would raise a lot of confusing issues in the short term,” including political ones, he said.

If Trump does appear in a Manhattan courtroom later this month, deciding his fate will remain an unprecedented challenge.

Under the law, Trump faces a range of penalties, including fines, probation and up to four years in prison. But with his impending return to the White House, many options have become unrealistic.

“Sentencing a sitting president is probably one of the most complex and fraught sentencing decisions you can imagine,” Ms. Kominski said.

“It is difficult to imagine a sentence that would not impede the president’s ability to carry out his duties or jeopardize his safety.”

Few expected a judge to sentence Trump to prison at this point.

“He is a 78-year-old man with no criminal record who has been convicted of a nonviolent felony,” said retired New York Supreme Court Justice Diane Kiesel. “I don’t think a judge would impose a prison sentence on a person based on these sentences.”

Even if Judge Murchin does impose such a sentence, Trump’s team will almost certainly appeal, delaying actual punishment.

Trump can end sentencing hearings in court, which is the legal equivalent of a slap in the face. A silent judge can order a former president to pay a relatively small fine of three to four figures.

He could also free Trump without conditions; as Judge Kissel said, “Basically, goodbye.”

The only thing that is certain is that Trump cannot eliminate this belief on his own.

Trump has explored the possibility of pardoning himself on potential criminal charges in the past and could pardon federal indictments when he takes office in January.

But he could not pardon himself in New York because the conviction was in state court.

For now, his fate lies in the hands of the courts. But whatever the outcome, Trump is likely to avoid facing the harshest punishment.

“He is a very lucky man,” Judge Kissel said.