NEW YORK (VINnews) — The judge in the criminal trial of President Trump has made a surprising decision, announcing that court will be in session during the Holiday of Passover, including on the days of Yom Tov which are Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, as well as Monday and Tuesday of the following week.
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According to CNN, “prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Judge Juan Merchan to confirm if he intends the court go straight until 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday for Passover. The judge said that is his plan.”
“Trump attorney Todd Blanche said Monday asked that they do not sit on Tuesday because it’s a holiday the entire day.”
“I can appreciate it’s a holiday, the entire day for him. It’s not a court holiday,” Merchan said.
This is an extremely significant decision by Judge Merchan, because two of Trump’s lawyers are Orthodox Jews, and thus will not be able to attend the proceedings. Jews are forbidden to do any ‘labor’ on the first two and last two days of Passover, including writing and most forms of travel.
The judge announced the scheduling decision near the closing of proceedings on Thursday afternoon.
Although this is not unheard of, it is very common for judges to accommodate the religious needs of both attorneys and litigants. Specifically in this highly unusual and historic trial, when a former president is being accused of felonies, one would have expected Merchan to be as accommodating as possible to the defense team.
There have been unverified rumors that the judge also disqualified religious Jews to be jurors, which some speculated was not due to their religion but to their tendency to be Trump supporters.
The judge didn’t let Trump take off for his son’s graduation… this is a political persecution trial, not a criminal trial.
Just imagine if this a muslim asking to postpone a court date for EID and was refused, the city would be in flames
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on religion in public accommodations,
Trump team should of ask brake for Ramadan ….
EVEN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE OFF ON PASSOVER !!!!!!!!!
the Real Judge ABOVE will rule and punish this little judge
Could this be a silver lining for appeal?
Welcome to Galut!
I’m assuming the orthodox lawyers are top-notch and are well-compensated. However, the judge’s action (or non-action) may hamper orthodox Jewish lawyers. Prospective clients may shy away from hiring a lawyer that may not be there when most needed. That, in turn, may prompt law firms to think twice before hiring an orthodox Jewish lawyer.
Trump team should move in Federal Court to throw this nonsense out.
Trump still has several gentile Attorneys defending him, so I don’t think that the absence of the two frum Attorneys, during the first two weeks of a long trial, will impact his case.
The defendant has many lawyers, not just the two frum Yidden. The judge wants to make sure that a decision is rendered well before the election. You could scream discrimination were those two guys Trump’s only counsellors. That’s not the case. However, the Trump game plan is to delay everything as much as possible, even after November if possible. Good for the judge – he didn’t take the bait! Let the trial proceed and let the American people decide if they should be voting for someone who has either been convicted of criminal activity – or not….