How Trump's trial will go well beyond the charges to paint a damning portrait of him [View all]
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-04-22/donald-trump-trial-new-york-hush-money-stormy-daniels-harry-litman
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https://archive.li/2pmha
The scheme at the heart of the charges against Donald Trump in New York is well-known: To keep allegations of an affair with the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels from becoming public, Trump is accused of agreeing to pay her $130,000, camouflaged as payments to Michael Cohen for legal services. Its in the camouflaging that Trump is charged with committing the 34 felonies at issue before a jury starting Monday.
But the jury, and the country, are going to hear a lot of evidence of Trumps other allegedly wrongful acts and a virtual avalanche of such evidence should the defendant decide to testify. That will paint a broader and more damning portrait of Trump, who is reportedly already on tenterhooks about Daniels expected testimony, giving him even more opportunities to complain that he is the victim of a no-holds-barred railroading at the hands of Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg.
Braggs team can introduce information about Trumps other alleged misconduct under New Yorks rules of evidence, which mirror the federal courts. Known in New York as Molineux evidence, after the case that defined it, its generally considered a bonanza for prosecutors and a bane of defendants.
Its an axiom of criminal law that jurors should assess guilt or innocence based on the defendants conduct in the case before them. That means they shouldnt make their decision based on judgments about the defendants character for example, that the defendant is a bad person who, having done bad things in the past, probably did them again. So it would be improper to introduce the fact that an alleged bank robber previously robbed a bank to show that he is a bank-robbing kind of person and therefore likely committed the bank robbery hes now charged with.
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