Breakdown of Trump's Current Court Cases
With all of the rulings, postponements, appeals and delays, here is a necessary reference for each of Trump's court cases and where they stand.
Donald Trump, the first president to ever be charged criminally, has racked up 91 felony counts across four criminal cases, and has been implicated in a pair of civil suits that are resulting in huge financial awards. Trump has pleaded not guilty or denied wrongdoing in each of these cases, as his legal team pursues the goal of attempting to delay any and all of the trials until after Election Day in 2024. Below is a quick breakdown of each, which includes jurisdiction, presiding judge and the current status of the case.
Federal Case in Washington, DC (Judge Chutkan)
Donald Trump currently faces four charges in federal court resulting from his attempt to stay in power in 2020. This case, brought by Department of Justice prosecutor Jack Smith, includes: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
On Dec. 7, 2023, Donald Trump’s legal team filed an appeal following a DC judge’s ruling that Trump was not immune from being charged with federal crimes for his efforts to undo the outcome of the 2020 election, and that Trump could be prosecuted. On December 22nd, the United States Supreme Court declined prosecutor Jack Smith’s request to determine whether Trump could be prosecuted. The case was then sent back to the DC Court of Appeals for a decision on the original court ruling, and then it will likely head to the US Supreme Court for an appeal following that decision.
Judge Chutkan previously set a March 4 trial date at the federal court level, but the case has now been dropped from the public court calendar in Washington, a clear indication that the trial will now be delayed while awaiting appeal. Judge Chutkan confirmed that all trial deadlines would be suspended while Trump challenged the DC Circuit Court ruling. This new delay in the DC case means that the pending criminal fraud case in Manhattan will likely be held this spring.
New York Criminal Cases (Judge Merchan)
A delay in the DC case makes it increasingly likely that the first of Trump’s four criminal trials will begin this spring in Manhattan. That trial in New York State Court for business fraud in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 election, has been has been set for March 25.
The Manhattan court previously signaled that it would defer a trial based on the timing of the federal election subversion case in Chutkan’s courtroom. Now that the federal case has been removed from the docket, it appears as though all systems are a go for New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to proceed. The next pretrial hearing is set for Feb. 15, and it is expected that the judge will determine at that time exactly when the trial will proceed.
Florida Case (Judge Cannon)
US District Court and Trump appointee, Judge Aileen Cannon, has determined that the case involving Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents that were stored at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, will begin in May of 2024. Trump employees, Carlos De Oliveira and Walt Nauta, are accused of helping Trump hide the records to thwart their return to federal authorities, and will be tried together as co-defendants.
The “exceedingly voluminous” evidence and complex rules for handling classified materials and the unique challenges this case presents for defense attorneys, has already caused a substantial delay for motions and discovery deadlines. Cannon has scheduled a hearing for March 1 to revisit the issue of a possible further delay.
New York Civil Case (Judge Engoron)
This trial has concluded, and we are awaiting a final written ruling from New York Judge Arthur Engoron. Judge Engoron initially stated after closing arguments on Jan. 11, that his goal was to deliver his verdict on the potential $370 million fine by January 31. But on Thursday, a New York court spokesperson confirmed that the civil verdict will be issued later than expected in early to mid-February.
During his initial pre-trial ruling in September, Judge Engoron found Donald Trump guilty of fraud by inflating the value of his assets on financial documents. This latest trial concerned the issue that Trump and his company had committed fraud with intent, which is punishable by a substantial fine. The New York Attorney General’s office has asked for Judge Engoron to issue a $370 million fine against the Trump Organization, and to ban Trump from doing business in New York.
Georgia Case (Judge McAfee)
Despite Fulton County officials confirming over the weekend that the court and other systems in Georgia’s most populous county were hacked, the district attorney’s office has confirmed that the ongoing racketeering case against former President Donald Trump remains unaffected. “All material related to the election case is kept in a separate, highly secure system that was not hacked and is designed to make any unauthorized access extremely difficult if not impossible,” District Attorney Willis’ office said in a statement.
According to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday of this week, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade have been subpoenaed to testify at a Feb. 15 hearing involving motions to disqualify them from the election interference case. An attorney for Michael Roman alleges that Willis and her office should be disqualified from the election case because she has been involved in an improper romantic relationship with Wade.
Roman is one of 15 remaining defendants in the racketeering case that accuses former President Donald Trump of overseeing a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Willis and Wade will have to testify at the Feb. 15 hearing before Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, but will likely seek to quash the subpoenas. Willis, who has yet to directly address the allegations, has been directed by Judge McAfee to file a response today.
Last November, District Attorney Willis filed a motion with the Fulton County Court requesting an Aug. 5, 2024 trial date, arguing that the date balances potential delays from Trump’s other criminal trials with the speedy trial rights of the other defendants. Steve Sadow, Donald Trump’s lead attorney in the case, responded in a timely court filing that his client opposes Willis’ motion and has asked the judge to schedule a hearing on the issue. Judge McAfee, who will ultimately be responsible for setting the final trial date, is expected to hold a hearing on the matter.
E. Jean Carroll Case (Judge Kaplan)
A verdict was issued in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case on Jan. 25, 2024. A New York jury ordered former President Donald Trump to pay an additional $83.3 million to the writer for damaging her reputation with defamatory comments after she accused him of sexual assault. This is in addition to the first award of $5 million issued in July of last year.
While Donald Trump claims that he intends to appeal the verdict, Robbie Kaplan, attorney for E. Jean Carroll, confirmed that in order to do so, Trump would have to post a bond of 20% of the $83.3 million award amount or pay 83.3 million plus 10%, in order to proceed in the courts.
Donald Trump’s attorney Alina Habba wrote a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday quoting a recent New York Post article, which cited a single anonymous source’s claims that Kaplan had a “mentor” relationship with Carroll’s lawyer when they worked at the same law firm in the 1990s. Robbie Kaplan quickly pushed back at the insinuation of professional impropriety by immediately sending a letter that denied ever working with the judge of record and threatening Habba with sanctions.
Kaplan wrote, “While Ms. Habba ends her letter by characterizing this as a ‘troubling matter,’ … what is actually troubling is both the substance and timing of her false accusations of impropriety on the part of E. Jean Carroll’s counsel or the Court.” Kaplan continued: “Accordingly, while we wanted to submit our response to Ms. Habba’s letter as soon as possible, we reserve all rights, including but not limited to the right to seek sanctions.” Habba followed up with a new letter dropping the matter mere hours after her initial complaint.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Thanks for keeping us updated, Amee. So many to keep track of.
Trump could shoot Biden on tv and he wouldn't lose any support. It's astonishing and appalling.