Jurors in former President Donald Trump's upcoming business records case in New York City are facing an extensive set of questions, but that doesn't mean the court is searching for jurors who have never heard of him, but to seat a jury that can reach a verdict based on the evidence it hears, retired Judge Andrew Napolitano said Tuesday on Newsmax.
"Having been through this myself many, many, many times, you're not looking for a juror that never heard of him," Napolitano told Newsmax's "Newsline." "That person would have to live on the moon. You're not looking for a juror that has no opinion about him."
Instead, the court will want jurors who can put those opinions aside, as "the juror would want if the juror were the defendant, that's the test; and judge this man fairly without any bias, without any prejudice, and without any interest in the outcome," said Napolitano.
And, in the end, if Judge Juan Merchan and lawyers are satisfied they can find 16 such people, 12 jurors and four alternates, Trump will "get a fair trial," Napolitano said.
The questions are widely being seen as restrictive on Trump's side, but Napolitano said they will also give an advantage to the former president's lawyers to weed out people who are predisposed to be against Trump.
"They probably have called maybe 100 potential jurors, each one of whom will be given a few hours to answer this questionnaire. Then the judge will begin interrogating them with counsel in the courtroom based on their answers to the questions," said Napolitano.
The questionnaire will be a "bare-bones indicator" if the potential jury has either profound prejudice against Trump or against the government, said Napolitano.
"The judge and the lawyers can ask follow-up questions depending upon how the person answers so you're not automatically disqualified depending on how you answer anything in the questionnaire," he said. "The questionnaire actually begins the conversation and the process of selecting jurors in New York is a conversation between the lawyers."
The law, Napolitano added, presumes that potential jurors are people who "read newspapers, have political opinions and who vote and can put down their own biases and prejudices" and fairly hear the evidence.
Meanwhile, Trump is on a gag order after criticizing the judge's daughter for her political actions, but he has "every right" to resist those who attack him publicly, even if that person is related to the trial judge, said Napolitano.
That will mean, though, that Trump's attorneys will need to note any perceived biases from the bench for the record, "because this is a series of appealable issues," Napolitano said.
"They've already lost the issue of whether or not he should be the trial judge," said Napolitano. "The appellate court said he can stay. I'm not so sure that I agree, but he can stay, still pending this issue."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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