The process of picking a jury is a critical phase of any criminal trial but especially when the defendant is a former president and presumptive Republican nominee.
NEW YORK — A jury of 12 people was seated Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s history-making hush money trial, propelling the proceedings closer to opening statements and the start of weeks of dramatic testimony.
The court quickly turned to selecting alternate jurors.
The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, a security engineer, an English teacher, a speech therapist, multiple lawyers, an investment banker and a retired wealth manager.
The first-ever trial of a former American president will unfold in the middle of this year’s race for the White House, ensuring that the legal troubles of the presumptive Republican nominee will be a dominant issue in the contest against Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
The trial will almost certainly feature unflattering testimony about the Trump’s personal life before he became …
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