If Donald Trump is required to do community service as part of his sentence for his felony conviction, he could be forced to pick up trash, remove graffiti and do other odd jobs, experts said.
Trump, 77, is scheduled to be sentenced by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Marchan on July 11 after making history on Thursday as the first U.S. president to be convicted.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was found guilty by a jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records for concealing hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Here’s what Trump could face and how an appeal of that sentence could play out.
What punishment could Trump face?
The real estate mogul faces up to four years in prison on each of the 34 charges. If he receives a sentence of less than a year, he will be sent to jail instead of prison.
But because Trump has been convicted of nonviolent crimes and has no previous convictions, he is unlikely to face harsh penalties and is instead more likely to receive probation or conditional release, legal experts say.
“Trump could face prison time, probation or up to a year in prison,” criminal lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman told The Washington Post. “As part of his probation, he could receive community service, such as picking up trash on the sidelines.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment Thursday on what kind of punishment his office would seek.
Trump’s legal team has until June 13 to submit a sentencing recommendation for Marchan and will likely seek a life sentence. Bragg’s office has until June 27 to submit its recommendation.
But before then, Trump must meet with the probation department to discuss his history and his thoughts about the case so the department can prepare a report that the judge will use at sentencing.
“I’m not going to jail. [or] “Prison sentences will be imposed, but with this judge and district attorney, anything is possible,” Lichtman said.
What would probation or conditional release look like for Trump?
The judge can impose any conditions he or she deems appropriate, including setting terms of probation or conditional release.
Trump will be on probation for up to five years, and a probation officer will visit him to make sure he meets the conditions set by the judge.
Those conditions could include not committing any new crimes, paying fines by certain dates or notifying the probation office of travel plans, said Anna Kominsky, a professor at New York Law School.
Alternatively, Trump could receive three years of conditional release, which would be similar to probation and would require him to follow the judge’s rules but would not be monitored by police, Kominsky said.
“Conditional release involves less supervision than probation,” she said.
It may be logistically difficult for probation officers to monitor Trump because the former president would still have to travel, host events and fulfill other obligations expected of a public figure, even if he is not re-elected.
“Former presidents have a lot of responsibility,” said Jeremy Salland, a criminal defense lawyer and former Manhattan district attorney. “It would be administratively very difficult to give a former president of the United States a suspended sentence.”
Marchan also has the option of forcing Trump to perform community service, which the real estate mogul could do through a court-approved program or through private community service with a nonprofit organization of his choice.
“There are jobs that get your hands dirty, like street sweeping and graffiti removal,” Saland said of the community service program.
Kominsky said other examples include working at a food bank or community garden.
Could Trump be fined?
Kominsky said Trump could face fines of up to $5,000 on each of the 34 charges, for a total of $170,000.
But “for someone like Donald Trump, fines are inconsequential,” Saland said, noting that in this case “the fine is purely symbolic.”
What will Trump argue in his appeal against the ruling?
Trump vowed at a press conference on Friday to appeal the conviction, and like other defendants convicted at trial, he will be able to appeal after the sentence is handed down.
The former president could first appeal to the New York Intermediate Appellate Division, First Department, and then to the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
President Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Branche, in an interview with CNN on Thursday night, laid out some of the appeal strategies his defense team may pursue.
He said lawyers could also argue, as they did in vain before the trial began, that Trump did not get a “fair” trial in Manhattan because jurors were overwhelmed by publicity about the case.
“Our justice system shouldn’t be one where everyone who walks into a courtroom knows what’s going on,” he told CNN.
Trump’s legal team may also argue that Marchan unfairly “prejudiced” the jury by allowing Daniels to provide salacious details on the witness stand when she testified about her sexual relationship with the married Trump in 2006.
The judge ruled that Daniels’ racy testimony could be admitted because Blanche herself had sharply attacked her “credibility” in her opening statement, calling her a liar and accusing Trump of extorting her by demanding money to keep her story secret just days before the 2016 election.
Kominsky said the Trump campaign is likely to fight any judges’ rulings or decisions on challenges against it in court.
“Anything that happens in court that is adverse to Mr. Trump is grounds for appeal,” Kominsky explained, noting that even if Trump has grounds for appeal, that doesn’t indicate whether the appeal will be successful.
“If a motion filed by the defense is denied by the judge, that is a ground for appeal,” she said. “This includes objections filed by the defense and denied, as well as objections filed by the prosecution and granted.”
Will my probation be put on hold while my appeal is pending?
Judge Marchan on Thursday ruled that Trump’s bail would continue until the sentence is reached. If Trump receives probation or conditional release, the sentence could theoretically be stayed pending appeal.
Saland noted that the judge “can postpone the sentence on appeal, whatever the sentence may be.”
But Kominsky said suspensions of sentences on appeal typically apply to people who have received prison or incarceration sentences, making it unlikely that Trump would receive such a sentence.
“The reason suspended sentences are given before appeal is because a prison sentence is usually given,” she said. “If the sentence is something other than a prison sentence, suspended sentences are usually not given.”
