By the end of day two of Donald Trump‘s hush money trial, seven prospective jurors had survived a 42-question questionnaire, a 30-minute grilling by prosecutors, followed by another 30 minutes of probing by the defense.
Some had had their social media posts scrutinized, or been glared at by the defendant.
Their prize is a ringside seat at one of the most momentous trials in American history.
By the end of day two of Donald Trump‘s hush money trial, seven prospective jurors had survived a 42-question questionnaire, a 30-minute grilling by prosecutors, followed by another 30 minutes of probing by the defense.
Some had had their social media posts scrutinized, or been glared at by the defendant.
Their prize is a ringside seat at one of the most momentous trials in American history.
No wonder some looked terrified at they walked to the jury box to take up their seats and be sworn in.
‘This will be your permanent seat for the duration of the trial,’ said Judge Juan Merchan, who pushed back at repeated defense delays to get them installed by the end of Tuesday’s proceedings.
Six were sworn in together in mid-afternoon. A seventh was added right at the end of the day.
Merchan must find another five jurors plus six alternates on Thursday and Friday (the court does not sit on Wednesdays) if he is to hit his target of opening statements on Monday.
These are the seven jurors (identified only by jury number) seated so far:
B400 The Fox News and Daily Mail reader
A man originally from Ireland who now lives in West Harlem will take up seat number one in the jury box. He said he works in sales and previously was a waiter.
In his spare time he likes to do anything ‘outdoorsy.’
He lives with his spouse and (like many who appeared before the court) has no children.
One of the challenges for the defense has been to find jurors in liberal Manhattan who do not get all their news from the New York Times or NPR.
Juror B400 said he reads the Daily Mail and watches Fox News as well as the New York Times and MSNBC.
B280 – The oncology nurse
The juror taking seat two said she had lived on the Upper East Side for the past three years.
She lives with her fiance who works in finance, and said she enjoys spending time with friends and taking her dog to the park.
She brought a moment of levity when asked by defense attorney Todd Blanche what opinions of Donald Trump she had walked in with.
‘I didn’t even know I was walking into this,’ she said, sending a ripple of giggles through an overflow court room where journalists and members of the public watched a video feed. ‘I thought I was going home.’
She was adamant that she could be unbiased in her judgment.
‘I am here for my civic duty. I’m here to listen to the facts,’ she said.
B381 The Oregonian
A man of Asian appearance with black hair, in his late 20s or early 30s, according to reporters in the courtroom. He will take seat three.
He is from Oregon originally and has lived in Chelsea for five years. He said he is a corporate lawyer with Gunderson Dettmer, and likes to hike and run.
Trump listened intently as he gave his answers to the questionnaire, holding his own copy close to his face as he did so.
Later in the day, during the 30-minute ‘voir dire’ session when lawyers got their turn to ask questions, he was asked whether it was possible to decide someone’s intent from their actions.
‘I don’t think I need to read someone’s mind to read their intent,’ he said.
B89 The Trump observer
Juror number four is an older man, with receding gray hair, originally from Puerto Rico.
He lives on the Lower East Side and is a self-employed IT consultant.
‘I have no spare time,’ he said when asked about his past times. ‘I guess my hobby is my family.’
He brought an approving smile from the defendant later in the day, when he was asked about his opinion of Trump.
‘Fascinating,’ he said, like an naturalist about a wild animal. ‘He walks into a room and sets people off.
‘He makes things interesting.’
Blanche, the defense lawyer, was almost lost for words as Trump leaned back in his chair grinning his approval. ‘Umm, all right,’ said the lawyer. ‘Thank you.’
B374 The Harlem teacher
A young, black woman from Harlem, who describes herself as a native New Yorker, and works as an English Language Arts teacher.
She said she lives with her brother who is a basketball coach. And she explained, as she ran through the questionnaire on Tuesday morning, that she got her news from Google and TikTok.
That might not have sounded promising for Trump and his team, except for another detail she revealed.
Both her mother and godfather were retired from the NYPD; he had been a homicide sergeant.
She also said she could be impartial.
‘There was a divide in the country and I can’t ignore that,’ she said. ‘However, I never equated that to one individual.’
B297 – The software engineer
A young, female software engineer who lives in Chelsea with three roommates and is employed by Walt Disney.
She said her interests include plays, restaurants, dance, and watching TV.
And she said she gets her news from the New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok.
She said her sister is getting married in September. Would that be a problem?
‘If we were still here in September that would be a big problem,’ said Judge Merchan.
She will take seat number six in the jury box.
B269 – The late addition
With six jurors sworn in as a batch in mid afternoon, a seventh was sworn in after a rapid-fire round of questioning in the late afternoon.
Juror number seven presents as white – tanned – and in his late middle age. He has close cropped hair, is balding, and wears glasses and a blue button-up which is open at the collar.
He lives on the Upper East Side. And he said he works as a civil litigator working at Hunton Andrews Kurth.
Would that be a problem, asked Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger.
‘Yeah, I’m a civil litigator which means I know virtually nothing about criminal,’ he said.
‘I don’t know anything about election or finance law either.’
