Judge schedules Trump civil fraud trial for Oct. 2, without a jury

Story · September 8, 2023

Judge schedules Trump civil fraud trial for Oct. 2, without a jury

By The Daily Fuckup Newsroom · From Trump’s September 8, 2023, screwups: Georgia starts closing in, and New York keeps the pressure on

Bench trial set Confidence 5/5

Courts Media

Correction: Correction: An earlier version misstated the timing of the Trump civil fraud trial schedule. On Sept. 8, 2023, Justice Arthur Engoron set the case for a bench trial beginning Oct. 2, 2023; the trial itself had not begun on Sept. 8.

New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron put the Trump civil fraud case on a calendar on Sept. 8, 2023: a bench trial set to begin Oct. 2 and, if needed, run through Dec. 22. The order settled one major procedural question by making clear the case would be tried to the judge, not a jury.

The key point is timing. Sept. 8 was the date of the scheduling order, not the start of testimony. Court records for the case later listed the proceeding as a bench trial beginning on Oct. 2, 2023. The trial then opened on that date.

The lawsuit was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and alleges that Trump and Trump Organization defendants misstated asset values and related financial information in business dealings. The Sept. 8 order did not decide those claims. It only set the format and dates for hearing them.

So the order did two things: it locked in a nonjury trial, and it gave both sides a trial window. It did not deliver a ruling on the merits, and it did not mean the trial had already started on Sept. 8.

Read other reputable coverage

AP coverage on Sept. 8, 2023 scheduling · Associated Press
Washington Post coverage noting the Oct. 2 trial schedule · The Washington Post

These links are surfaced automatically only when the audit pipeline finds reputable outside coverage that helps readers compare reporting without rewriting it.

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