Jury Verdict in Trump's Criminal Trial

choi

Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert, 'The Air in the Courtroom Turned to Stone.'  BBC, May 30, 2024, ~5 pm (judging by Google timing "18 hours ago" and it is now 1 pm EDT).
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2xx1dyd70xo

Note:
(a) The report talks about "defence table," which is British English.
(i) Courtroom layout in Boston -- be it federal or state court -- has plaintiff or prosecution table on the right side of courtroom when one is positioned at the door of courtroom and look at the judge on the other end (of the courtroom); defense table on the left.

If parties' table are not situated left and right but instead one in front of the other, the plaintiff's or prosecution's table is in the front (closer to the judge) and the defense table is in the back.

There are no signs saying such, just by convention.
(ii)
(A) In Trump's hush money (criminal) trail, the sitting arrangement is Trump's defense table on the left and prosecution table on the right. See the sketch in
Michael R Sisak, Jennifer Peltz, Eric Tucker and Jake Offenhartz, Stormy Daniels Describes Meeting Trump During Occasionally Graphic Testimony in Hush Money Trial. Associated Press, May 7, 2024, updated 07:23 pm.
https://www.wearegreenbay.com/ne ... -heart-of-the-case/


(B) Here is a photo taken during jury-selection phase of the trial (the people in uniform in STATE courts are bailiffs or court officers; in federal court they are United States Marshals):
The photo is attached at the bottom.
(iii) In Trump's trial, the jury box is on the right. See the sketch in
Opening Statements in Trump Hush Money Trial Set for Monday After Latest Appeal Fails. Associated Press, Apr 19, 2024, updated 06:02 pm.
https://myfox8.com/news/national ... oney-trial-resumes/
, where the latest appeal alluded to Trump's last-ditch attempt for appeal to stop criminal trial.

The caption of the sketch is: "Judge Juan Merchan presides as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger stands at the podium as former US President Donald Trump sits beside his lawyer Emil Bove during jury selection of his criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, Friday, April 19, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg via AP, Pool)"  

My guess is that Ms Hoffinger was conducting voir dire (which is italicized because the term is loan words).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voir_dire
In this situation (as well as at both opening and closing statements), the lectern is moved from the central line in between the parties' table (see sketch in Note (a)(ii)(A)) to be closer to jury box, so that potential jurors (during jury selection) or jurors (at opening and closing argument) can hear words clearly.
(iv) Patrick T Barone, Is This Really the Prosecutor's Table? Advocating for the 'Best' Seat in the Courtroom. Michigan State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) and Criminal Defense Resource Center, undated
https://www.sado.org/articles/Article/841
("this seating arrangement provides that the party with the burden of proof always sits closest to the jury. * * * Additionally, in most courtrooms, the witness seat is also closest to jury")

The article remarked that "in the medieval epoch, courtrooms were much more austere and archaic than today's modern courtrooms. In those days, the most common arrangement would be such that a wooden barrier alone, known as the 'bar' ('barreau,' in English 'bar'), served to define the space within which justice was set to be accomplished."
Modern French-English dictionary:
* barreau (noun masculine): "metal bar"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/barreau

In Boston's federal district court, the witness stand is closest to the jury (sitting in jury box on the LEFT) than the judge, but defense table is still on the left.
(v) courtroom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtroom
(section 1 By country, section 1.2 United States: "In the Commonwealth (and many other countries), a courtroom used for trials of criminal cases often has a dock: a space exclusively reserved for seating a criminal defendant. It is marked off with a barrier, like the jury box and the witness stand (witness stand is American English; British English is witness box). As late as the 1970s, some American courtrooms also had docks, but they gradually fell out of use")


(b) "On Thursday, Trump's pursed expression remained unchanged after the verdict was read and his attorneys pleaded with the judge for acquittal, claiming Mr Trump’s former fixer had committed perjury with his damning testimony on the stand. Denied, Justice Merchan said."

A losing side may take the last stand and moved for "judgment notwithstanding (the) verdict" (JNOV) or "judgment as a Matter of Law" (because jury determines facts only; judges decide laws).