Former President Donald Trump’s trial into his handling of classified documents is set for May 20, 2024. It’s one of several criminal and civil cases Trump faces as he runs for president.

Trump, who has pleaded not guilty in the documents case, called it an “empty hoax.”

The Justice Department wanted the trial to start in December; Trump’s legal team wanted to push it past the 2024 election.

Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia Law School, said U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s order Friday setting a May 20, 2024, trial date was “an appropriate and reasonable effort to balance the legitimate needs of the defendants against the need to move the case forward as expeditiously as possible.”

But the legal complexities involved, the quantity of classified evidence, and Cannon’s lack of experience in such a case could contribute to lingering delays and headaches for prosecutors, Richman and other legal experts told NPR.

“[Cannon] doesn’t have any experience in criminal cases involving classified information. She hasn’t actually presided over a lengthy jury trial. They’ve all been short,” Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law school professor and former Justice Department official, said of Cannon’s trial background. “On another hand, she might bring, as a younger judge, energy to this. But I think this is the kind of case where experience really does matter.”

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    She should have recused herself, but that would require integrity rather than ambition.

  • APassenger@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    It’s set for after Super Tuesday. He’ll ask for a further delay. She’ll absolutely consider if he’s got viable numbers.

    I bet it’s half of why that date was chosen. And why Trump isn’t making too much noise about it. Stay quiet and people don’t notice what just happened.

  • Sigma@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    so he gets another entire year of freedom because the courts have higher priority things to do than trying the former president, like taking away rights.