The courtroom for Trump's trial becomes a test of power for an ex-president and a judge
A striking aspect of Donald Trump’s criminal trial is Judge Juan Merchan’s no-nonsense approach and the degree to which he — and he alone — controls the proceedings.
A striking aspect of Donald Trump’s criminal trial is Judge Juan Merchan’s no-nonsense approach and the degree to which he — and he alone — controls the proceedings.
Inside the courtroom, it’s the sitting judge and not the ex-president who reigns. Merchan resumed the trial Monday by wishing Trump, “Good morning.” That was perhaps the only pleasantry uttered during hours of testimony from the Trump Organization’s former controller, Jeffrey McConney.
When the judge entered the courtroom, Trump stood with everyone else. When the judge sat, Trump sat. As the jurors file out during breaks, they conspicuously avoided eye contact with the famous defendant, who stood silently as they passed.
All that is normal protocol for a criminal trial. But when Trump is the defendant, protocol has been known to collapse.
In a defamation trial in January, the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, threatened to kick Trump out of the courtroom after the former president made audible comments during testimony from his accuser, E. Jean Carroll. The judge told Trump to “keep his voice” down at one point.
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