Speculation mounted about the timing of a potential jail sentence for former President Donald Trump in the immediate aftermath of his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York.
Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to become a convicted felon after a Manhattan jury unanimously found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels on Thursday evening. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 11.
While Trump walked out of the courtroom as a free man a short time after his conviction, experts told Newsweek that New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan did have the option to sentence and send him to jail immediately. However, most said that there was never any significant chance of Trump heading directly to jail.
Syracuse University law professor Gregory Germain said that Trump “could be cuffed and taken away if convicted and sentenced to prison,” while describing the scenario as “unlikely” due to the potential to “create a constitutional crisis” since Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee in this year’s presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. The judge set a July… Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. The judge set a July 11 date for sentencing following the verdict.
Photo by SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Germain went on to say that Trump would probably not be sentenced to any jail time after being convicted of a “first-time non-violent Class E felony,” predicting “a mess” if Merchan does sentence Trump to prison.
“It would be a mess, because he has Secret Service protection and his personal safety would be of the highest concern,” Germain said. “It’s really difficult to imagine how they would handle it. My guess is that there would be a stay of the sentence pending appeal.”
University of Miami law professor Craig Trocino told Newsweek that “a normal defendant could be taken into custody pending a sentencing hearing,” while stressing that “there is nothing normal about this case.”
“In Mr. Trump’s case, I would suspect that he will be allowed to remain out on his bond pending a sentencing hearing,” Trocino said. “But all of this is generally within the discretion of the trial judge.”
Bradford Cohen, a criminal defense attorney and longtime Trump supporter, said that there was “zero chance” of Trump being sent to jail immediately while speculating that Merchan would not likely give the former president any jail sentence.
“In my experience on an individual his age with his lack of criminal background, the likelihood of him going to jail on a find of guilt is zero percent,” Cohen said. “It would be highly unusual for a Judge, especially in a case like this to place a defendant in jail immediately.”
“If he were to go to jail which, I do not think would happen, he would have to be in a separate area of the jail and have access to his Secret Service detail,” he added. “Any jail that says they are prepared for something like this isn’t being honest. NY jails have shown they can’t even handle lessor celebrities.”
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, agreed that a prison sentence was “unlikely.” Rahmani also told Newsweek that a Trump sentencing hearing being held one or two months after his conviction—the option that Merchan opted for—was always the “far more likely scenario” than the judge imposing an immediate sentence.
Trump and many of his supporters raged against the verdict after it was reached on Thursday night. In a statement emailed to Newsweek, the former president called his conviction the “disgraceful” outcome of a “rigged trial.”
“I’m a very innocent man, and it’s okay,” Trump said. “Our whole country is being rigged right now… We don’t have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We’re a nation in decline, serious decline.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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