Former Trump lawyer Timothy Parlatore said it was “highly unusual” for lawyers to serve on jurors after two lawyers were selected to serve on former President Trump’s hush money trial.
“It’s very unusual to have so many lawyers on the jury,” Parlatore said in an interview on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
Asked whether it was a good or bad thing to include at least two attorneys on a jury, Parlatore said, “It depends on the case.”
“I’ve never experienced it, but it certainly depends. If you’re trying to make a technical defense and really enforce what the law says, it’s a very good thing to have a lawyer on the jury. ” he continued.
President Trump’s hush money criminal trial began Monday in Manhattan, with prosecutors and the former president’s defense team hearing 96 potential jurors.
Seven New Yorkers were selected as jurors this week after two days of jury selection.
One of the seven jurors is a corporate lawyer who lives in Chelsea and grew up in Oregon, and the other is a civil trial lawyer from North Carolina who lives on the Upper East Side.
Parlatore noted that while lawyers can be helpful in certain cases, they can also have too much influence over other committees.
“The problem with having lawyers on the jury is that they have a very powerful voice and can influence the rest of the panel,” he said. “And if they’re strong on one side or the other, they can replace everyone else on the panel.
A total of 12 jurors must be selected, and at least six alternates must participate in the trial.
The jury selection process is moving faster than expected, contrary to some experts’ predictions that it could take one to two weeks to decide on a jury.
Court is scheduled to return Thursday to continue jury selection.
The former president is accused of illegally concealing hush money paid to cover up allegations of extramarital affairs ahead of the 2016 election. After paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep her affair suspicions quiet in October 2016, he had his business records removed in connection with a repayment to then-fixer Michael Cohen. He is charged with 34 counts of falsification.
He maintains his innocence and has repeatedly denied having an affair. This marks the beginning of the former president’s first criminal trial. Trump has since been indicted in three other criminal cases, bringing his total to 88 charges in four jurisdictions.
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