The Verdict – Some Thoughts: Sydney Williams
“’Let the jury consider the verdict,’ the King said, for about the twentieth time that day. ‘No, no!’ said the Queen. ‘Sentence first – verdict afterwards.’” Alice in Wonderland, 1946 (my copy) Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
While the charges against Donald Trump were more severe than stealing tarts, there is no question that the trial was politicized. And there is a question as to whether he received due process, as explained by David B. Rivkin, Jr. and Elizabeth Price Foley[1] in the June 5, 2024 edition of The Wall Street Journal. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump was convicted by a jury of twelve ordinary people, seven men and five women, a panel of jurors agreed to by both prosecution and defense. Like it or not, their decision is something we should respect. As British Member of Parliament Daniel Hannani wrote recently in The Telegraph: “Laws on their own are not enough. A free society rests also on conventions, precedents, unwritten rules. Losers are expected to accept the result, winners to exercise restraint.”
But jurors are not omniscient and judges have biases, which is why our legal process allows for appeals, and one can certainly expect Mr. Trump’s lawyers to appeal the decision, and we are free to argue as to whether the charges should have been brought in the first place. The law is not perfect, but justice is supposed to be blind; it should not be weaponized for political gain. Regardless, a civilized society must accept a trial’s outcome, just as it must accept the decision of elections, else anarchy reigns and totalitarianism looms. There is a process that should be followed.
The outcome of the trial in “deep blue” Manhattan was predictable; though many of us hoped for a Henry Fonda-like character from 12 Angry Men to appear among the jurors, to at least create a hung jury. That did not happen. However, the consequences of the decision to try Mr. Trump in the first place may have the most long-lasting effect. Alvin Bragg, the New York County District Attorney who led the prosecution, had campaigned for office by claiming, in words reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s Lavrentiy Beria (or emanations from the Queen of Hearts), that he would prosecute Donald Trump – first the man, then the crime. He did, and he won. But did he let the genie of more political dissension escape from the bottle?
As the first prosecution of a presidential candidate, the trial set a precedent and will be studied for years by legal scholars. Perhaps we have crossed a Rubicon? We will have, if it becomes standard to try political opponents, in order to keep them off the campaign trail and the ballot. We will have forsaken our liberal constitutional heritage, and we will have destroyed democracy. For just as no one is above the law, the law must be exercised evenly and equitably. There is risk that we have entered a time when political victors find it okay to try and jail their opponents – a practice common in totalitarian states like Communist China, Venezuela, and Cuba, and as it was in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in years gone by.
Both political parties have violated norms and to the extent that both candidates reflect the United States today, one can understand why so many feel dispirited. We once looked up to our political leaders. Can we now? Are Biden and Trump men we admire? We were once taught manners and rules of behavior; we were taught to be self-sufficient if and when able; to be responsible for our behavior; to be respectful and tolerant of others, and to practice humility and restraint when personal success was ours. Do these characteristics apply to either man? These are values once learned in homes and in schools. They should be restored.
Nevertheless, I remain optimistic about our country, that reason and commonsense will prevail, that when we reflect on the uniqueness of this nation and how fortunate are we to live here, we will give thanks. But it cannot be denied that hatred has infused our society, preventing courteous discourse and reasoned debate. Our culture has become invidious. As part of a poll of 18-30-year-old registered voters, Blueprint Polling found that 65% of those polled agreed strongly or somewhat that “nearly all politicians are corrupt, and make money from their political power” – only 7% disagreed. Using public funds for private gain is the mark of a banana republic, not a representative democracy. Each side blames the other. We once thought of ourselves, first as Americans and only secondly as members of a specific political party, or of a particular ethnicity or gender. Identity politics has been a curse.
While our nation is not as fractured as it was in 1861, it is moving in that direction. While Democrats achieved their goal of having former President Trump convicted as a felon before the election, in doing so they further divided an already ruptured nation. Justice will not be served until appeals are made – almost certainly after the election. Nevertheless, it is fitting at this time to repeat the closing paragraph of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
While this trial and its verdict, in my opinion, is a blight on our country, the United States is unique among nations. It is a “land of opportunity,” which is why so many seek these shores. We should take pride in our country. Something that we often forget is that those of us who live here are fortunate. Never forget that.
[1] Mr. Rivkin served at the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations. Ms. Foley is a professor of constitutional law at Florida International University College of Law. Both practice appellate and constitutional law in Washington.
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