In May of last year, a New York jury convicted President-elect Donald Trump of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. The court initially planned to sentence Trump in July, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on presidential immunity that complicated this process. Trump then asked to postpone sentencing until after the presidential election. When he won, he asked for a further postponement as his legal team prepared to ask the court to dismiss the case.
Trump’s attorneys then mustered a host of arguments for why the court should throw out the case. These included complaints about alleged misconduct by the prosecutors and the court. However, the main issue that the court needed to address (and the issue of broadest significance) involved the immunity of a President-elect from a prosecution in state court. No President-elect has ever faced the same situation as Trump, so the court lacked a clear precedent to guide its reasoning.
In an order released last Friday, the trial judge ruled that a President-elect does not have the same immunity from criminal process as a sitting President. The judge acknowledged the dismissal of the federal cases against Trump, but he pointed out that the state case has reached a very different stage from the federal cases. Also, the judge noted that Trump had requested the postponement until after the election, which he consistently believed that he would win. This suggested an acceptance that he would be sentenced between the election and the inauguration.
Trump also asked the court to use its discretion to dismiss the case “in the interests of justice,” as allowed by New York law. This requires reviewing 10 factors provided by statute. After analyzing how each factor applied to Trump’s case, the judge declined to dismiss the case on this basis.
Since none of Trump’s arguments persuaded the judge, he set sentencing for this coming Friday. It’s not all bad news for the former and future President, though. The judge indicated that he won’t impose a sentence of imprisonment, even though the conviction could support it. Instead, Trump likely will receive an “unconditional discharge.” Section 65.20 of the New York Penal Law describes this type of sentence. It means that a defendant will avoid jail time, a fine, or supervised probation. However, the conviction will remain on their record.
Trump can appeal the conviction after sentencing, and he has indicated that he will. He can’t pardon himself once he takes office, though. The pardon power of a President extends only to federal convictions and doesn’t apply to convictions in state courts.
Photo Credit: Andrew Leyden / Shutterstock.com
