Former Judge Andrew Napolitano predicted on Newsmax that all 18 jurors for Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial will be seated by Friday, expressing surprise at the swift progress made so far.
“I’m a little surprised, happily so, that they’ve seated seven jurors already,” Napolitano remarked on “National Report” on Wednesday. “I thought this would take several weeks, but the judge and the lawyers are doing a pretty good job.
We’re one-third of the way there. We have to get to 18. That’s 12 jurors and six alternates. I think they’ll have that by Friday and then the fireworks will start.”
Donald Trump (Credits: Reuters)
The panelists already selected represent a diverse range of professions, including an information technology worker, an English teacher, an oncology nurse, a sales professional, a software engineer, and two lawyers. However, 11 more individuals still need to be sworn in before opening statements begin, potentially as early as next week.
This trial marks an outstanding moment for Trump, who has sought to delay his prosecutions until after the November election, portraying himself as a target of a politically motivated justice system.
It will also play a crucial role in his closely contested race against President Joe Biden, being the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to reach trial and potentially the only one to return a verdict before voters head to the polls.
Donald J. Trump (Credits: ABC News)
Napolitano emphasized the fairness and generosity of the jury selection process in New York, noting that lawyers have the opportunity to interrogate potential jurors directly. This allows both the prosecution and defense to gauge the jurors’ impartiality and suitability for the trial.
“You don’t want somebody that never heard of Donald Trump,” Napolitano explained. “You don’t want somebody that doesn’t have an opinion on him. You don’t want somebody that has no opinion on the government. You want somebody that can give both the government and Donald Trump a fair and objective trial.”
