Did Judge Merchan Exclude Orthodox Jews From Trump Jury Pool? What We Know

MAGA's latest critique against Judge Juan Merchan that he excluded Orthodox Jews from the Trump jury pool lacks merit, legal experts told Newsweek.

Jury selection in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial, into whether he falsified papers around a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, is set to begin on Monday. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels, pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges and accused Bragg of targeting him for political purposes.

Ahead of the trial, some conservatives unveiled a new attack against Merchan. They alleged that the judge's scheduling the trial for Friday would prevent Orthodox Jews, who tend to be more conservative than many living in New York City, from participating in the jury pool due Shabbat occurring that same day.

"Left-wing anti-Trump Democrat judge in phony case against Trump starting tomorrow has purposely scheduled trial days to include Fridays to prevent more conservative pro-Trump Orthodox Jews from serving on the jury. This is yet another sleazy move by this judge," wrote conservative commentator Mark Levin.

However, legal experts told Newsweek this schedule will not affect whether Orthodox Jews can be in the jury pool, as court proceedings would wrap up hours before Shabbat begins.

"Scheduling the trial on Fridays shouldn't exclude Orthodox Jews. Court will be over by 5:00 p.m., well before sundown during daylight savings time," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek.

Even if there were concerns about Shabbat, Merchan could make accommodations for a juror's religious beliefs, he said.

Former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi told Newsweek that court proceedings would likely end around 4:30 or 5 p.m., making questions about whether the trial would prevent jurors of Jewish faith from participating in Shabbat "not an issue at all."

According to the organization Chabad, Shabbat in New York City will begin on 7:22 p.m. on Friday April 19. Shabbat is a religious day of rest in the Jewish faith that prevents followers from undergoing work or other activities such as driving or cooking.

"Every jury selection involves some religious holiday, whether its Easter, Ramadan, the Jewish faith and other faiths. So the key is the jury pool large enough to accommodate excluding those individuals, number one. And number two, will excluding those individuals allow President Trump to still have a fair and impartial jury? The answer is yes to both," Rossi said via phone interview.

Barbara McQuade, also a former federal prosecutor, said: "I believe he said he will accommodate jurors who request accommodations for religious observances for Passover. I think he said he would wait and see what accommodations are required, and then proceed accordingly. I do not think orthodox Jewish jurors will be excluded simply on the basis of their needs for religious observance."

Newsweek reached out to New York City court's public relations team for comment via email.