UPDATE: Friday, Jul 21, 2023 · 2:43:33 PM +00:00
·
Mark Sumner
Cannon’s order also sets the location of Trump’s trial as Ft. Pierce. This is an unusual ruling because the origin of the case was West Palm Beach, and cases are not supposed to be moved without cause. Moving it to Ft. Pierce places the trial in a more heavily Republican area and also puts it in a tiny courtroom with very limited room for media coverage.
Judge Aileen Cannon has set an initial trial date for Donald Trump’s trial on charges of illegally holding classified documents related to national security. The extensive schedule released by Cannon splits the difference between the December 2023 date requested by prosecutors and the November 2024 date suggested by Trump’s attorneys. At the moment, Trump’s trial is slated to begin on May 20, 2024.
If that date is maintained, it would come after most of the events on the 2024 Republican primary calendar but before late primaries in four states. It would place Trump’s trial five months ahead of the 2024 general election. Trump’s attorneys have argued that any date before the 2024 election would represent election interference and insisted that Trump would be unable to effectively campaign while also preparing for trial.
Cannon’s order includes an extensive schedule of upcoming hearings and motions. How well the early dates in this list correspond to the dates on which these events are actually held should provide an early preview of just how accurate the trial date may be.
Some critical events on on Cannon’s schedule:
-
Motion for protective order for classified documents: July 27, 2023
-
Hearing on the motion and objections: Aug. 25, 2023
-
Production of classified documents for discovery: Sept. 7, 2023
-
Deadline for the filing of pretrial motions: Nov. 3, 2023
-
Hearing on pretrial motions: Dec. 11, 2023
-
Joint discovery status report: Feb. 12, 2024
-
Deadline for the filing of any motions to exclude any evidence: March 20, 2024
-
Hearing on motions to exclude any evidence: April 17, 2024
-
Jury trial: May 20, 2024
Some of these events can be delayed without necessarily impacting the trial date, but in general the closer these actions remain to the timeline Cannon has provided, the more likely the trial is to kick off on or around the scheduled date.