Judge Approves Jury Questionnaire in Trump’s Hush Money Case

State Judge Juan Merchan, overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York, has approved a questionnaire for jury selection. The questionnaire consists of 42 questions on various topics, but does not ask about party affiliation, political contributions, or voting history. Merchan rejected Trump’s attorneys’ argument that potential jurors’ political affiliations and their opinion of Trump are important to jury selection. He stated that the purpose of jury selection is to determine whether a prospective juror can set aside personal feelings or biases and render a decision based on the evidence and the law.

The questionnaire asks prospective jurors about:

• Their neighborhoods, professions, employers (present and past), marital status, hobbies and interests, and relationships with others who have been victims of crimes or have worked in places like the FBI or prosecutors’ offices or in criminal law.
• Whether their “political, moral, intellectual, or religious beliefs or opinions” would prevent them from following the judge’s instructions or rendering a verdict.
• Whether they’ve read any of Mark Pomerantz’s or Michael Cohen’s books about the alleged crimes and/or the investigation that led to the hush money case and whether what they have read or heard via audiobook affects their ability to be a fair or impartial juror in this case.
• Their personal, familial or close friends’ ties to Trump or the Trump Organization before it addresses whether they have engaged in certain activities that would reflect political support for Trump or “any anti-Trump group or organization” and/or extremist movements.
• Whether they practice “a religion that would prevent them from sitting as a juror on any particular weekday or weeknight”.
• What they read, watch and listen to in terms of media consumption, followed by a list of options to check, including The New York Times, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, as well as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and Newsmax and social media platforms like Facebook, X, TikTok and Truth Social.

Merchan suggested that the question of political affiliation could be inferred from the responses to other questions. He warned the attorneys in the case not to seek to expand the degree of intrusion beyond what is relevant and has already been approved. Trump pleaded not guilty in Manhattan last year after he was indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Merchan also said that prospective jurors will be informed before they enter the courtroom that they will be identified by the numbers printed on their jury summonses to ensure anonymity.