Trump makes a quip about the chilly courtroom as he departs for lunch
As former President Donald Trump exited the courtroom for a lunch break, he turned to reporters inside the courtroom and asked, "Is it cold enough?"
It is, indeed, chilly in the facility, according to CNN journalists at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York.
One of Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche, approached Judge Juan Merchan earlier today and asked if they could make the courtroom any warmer. Merchan agreed it was chilly, but said that even a minor adjustment to the thermostat would heat up the courtroom significantly.
The judge said he would rather be a little cold than sweat.
The 17-story Art Deco courthouse, with its steel frame and granite and limestone facade, is composed of four towers, according to the city of New York. It was completed in 1941.
Trump trial jury has two lawyers. Jury consultant says having them on could benefit both sides
From CNN’s Antoinette Radford
Lawyer and jury consultant Linda Moreno says having attorneys on the jury could prove beneficial to both Donald Trump’s defense and prosecutors.
So far, two attorneys have been selected to the panel.
Usually, Moreno tells CNN’s Dana Bash, lawyers don’t want other lawyers on the jury as they can act as powerbrokers.
But, she says since the case is complicated – it could work in both side's favor.
“Here, I think that both sides… this might be to their advantage because there are some nuances, there are some technical, legal issues regarding the elements like intent and perhaps both sides would benefit from some clear thinking on those issues."
The court is taking a lunch break
The court is now on a lunch break. Proceedings will resume at 2:15 p.m. ET.
Earlier today, two jurors seated in Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial wereexcused, leaving five empaneled jurors as selection continues.
Judge says a potential juror knows one of Trump's attorneys and he wants to question her about impartiality
Judge Juan Merchan said that one potential juror knows Susan Necheles, who is on Donald Trump's legal team. The judge said he wants to ask her if she can be fair and impartial and isn't dismissing her yet.
18 potential jurors have completed questionnaire before lunch break
Eighteen potential jurors have now gone through the questionnaire.
Judge Juan Merchan is giving them instructions before the court breaks for lunch, including telling them not read about or discuss the case with anyone.
What happens next: Now that this portion of the questioning has ended, attorneys for each side will be able to use peremptory strikes to dismiss potential jurors they don’t want on the panel without providing a reason. They both have four strikes left.
Potential juror dismissed after saying it would be hard to be fair
Another prospective juror has been dismissed after he said he can't be fair.
"It would be hard for me to maintain that impartiality and fairness," he said.
Potential jurors are describing their news consumption habits as they are questioned by the judge
As a group of potential jurors are being questioned by the judge, here's what we are learning about them:
- One potential juror is a paralegal at a law firm. Her husband is a realtor and she has kids. She reads The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, but said she doesn't watch network television. She believes she can be fair and impartial.
- Another prospective juror is a speech therapist and has a master's degree. She is not married and does not have kids. She said, "I don't watch any news or follow it too closely." She says she gets morning newsletters from The New York Times and CNN.
- Another juror is a business owner who is married and has a stepson. He's read Trump's book "The Art of the Deal" and said he feels very positively about police, firearms, EMT, and military. "I am in awe of what they do everyday." He reads the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Bloomberg News.
- One juror works for a retail company and has a college degree.He doesn't really follow the news but said if anything, he reads The New York Times.
- Another person in the jury pool works in accounting. He was not born in the US, is married and is a parent. He also has a master's degree. He gets his news from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg Radio, Fox and Fox Business.
- One prospective juror works for a multinational apparel company. She’s not a native New Yorker, is not married and doesn’t have kids. She doesn’t really follow the news but occasionally follows headlines and reads industry-specific publications.
- Another potential juror, a physical therapist, has a doctorate degree. She reads The New York Times, USA Today and CNN.
- One is an analyst for an asset manager who grew up in England. She lives with her boyfriend. She reads the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Remember: The questions are being used for the judge to strike jurors at the outset, if they don’t believe they can render a verdict fairly. They are also being used by lawyers for both sides to strike jurors for any reason — a key part of the jury selection process.
Potential juror says she has opinions on Trump but would be impartial
The potential juror being questioned now said she has opinions about former President Donald Trump but said they wouldn't get in the way of her ability to be fair and impartial.
"I firmly believe in innocent until proven guilty," the juror said.
Trump leaned over to his attorneys right after she said that. They, in response, nodded.
The prospective juror said she gets news from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and CNN, and said she occasionally watches Fox News "to see what's going on on all sides." She said she works as an attorney and once was a legislative intern.
We started the day with 7 seated jurors. Now we're down to 5 — here's what happened in court
After several hours of court proceedings today, Judge Juan Merchan now finds himself with fewer seated jurors than when he started.
Ultimately, the court needs 12 New Yorkers to be empaneled on the jury for former President Donald Trump'scriminal hush money trial, and likely needs another six alternates.
The day started with seven jurors already seated and a batch of 96 potential new jury members ready for consideration. But as the court started paring down the new group, Merchan found himself excusing two jurors who had already been seated.
The first juror to go expressed concerns about her identity being shared publicly, saying friends and family had already reached out to her asking about the trial after her description was published in news reports.
Now, a second juror has been excused, this time after prosecutors said they found information that called into question the truthfulness of their answers during voir dire, the period where lawyers from both sides question potential jurors.
As for today's batch: Judge Juan Merchan says nine prospective jurors are filling out their questionnaires, and then there will be a lunch recess.
