Timothy Parlatore: Unusual to See Attorneys on Jury

The Donald Trump hush-money trial started on Monday with jury selection.

On day one, about half the jury pool was dismissed due to their inability to be unbiased or other commitments.

On day two, half the jury was chosen, leaving the remaining jurors and alternatives to be selected. Among those selected were two attorneys, which a former Trump attorney claims is “very unusual.”

Very Unusual

While we do not have the identities of the jurors, their backgrounds were published after they were selected.

Among the first to be selected were two attorneys, which seemed odd to former Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore.

He stated, “It’s very unusual to have that many lawyers on a jury.”

Parlatore was on CNN when he made the comments, bringing host Jake Tapper to ask him if this would be good or bad for Trump.

Parlatore responded, “It depends on the case.

“I’ve never had one, but it certainly depends on the case. If you’re trying to mount a technical defense and have them really stick to what the law is, then having … an attorney on the jury can be a very good thing.”

In all, seven people were selected on day two, one being a corporate attorney and the other a civil litigator.

If these attorneys are unbiased, it could be beneficial for Trump to have them explain to the other members of the jury how weak the charges that Bragg stacked against Trump in this case are.

On the other hand, if they hope to see Trump convicted, their argument could be very persuasive, which was another point covered by Parlatore.

He explained, “The problem with having a lawyer on the jury is that they can be a very strong voice and influence the rest of the panel.

“And so, if they are … strong to one side or the other, then that can swap everybody else on the panel.”

Jury selection should wrap up this week, as both sides have already used six of their 10 strikes in the first two days.

If the pace holds up, we could see opening arguments take place on Monday.