Joseph Sabino Mistick: Faith in our justice system after Trump verdict

The trial of Donald Trump was both extraordinary and ordinary at the same time. Never before has a former president of the United States been charged, tried and convicted of crimes. But, once charged, Trump was treated like everybody else.

With apologies for this lawyer’s view — without the passion of the day — here’s how this case went:

• Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a potential scandal that could have derailed his successful 2016 campaign for president. Trump claimed that these charges were no big deal and rarely pursued. But, in fact, this prosecutor’s office has tried hundreds of cases involving similar crimes.

• Trump was tried in the jurisdiction where his crimes were committed. He would rather have been tried in a jurisdiction where more of his political supporters reside. But, in our system, defendants do not pick where they go on trial.

• Trump was convicted by 12 citizens, a jury of his peers, as guaranteed by our Constitution. He and his lawyers, along with the prosecutor, had an equal hand in choosing the jurors and an equal opportunity to strike potential jurors.

• In a jury trial, the judge’s job is to rule on evidentiary matters, act as a traffic cop to move the trial forward and instruct the jury on the law. The judge in this case did just that. He chastised both the prosecution and the defense when necessary.

• Trump was treated with restraint when he repeatedly violated court orders to refrain from publicly attacking court personnel and the judge’s family. Other defendants likely would have spent some time in the lock-up for similar behavior.

• Trump and his team plan to appeal. No one is guaranteed a perfect trial — a near impossibility in human affairs — just the best trial we can give you. If mistakes were made, the appellate courts will catch them and take action in the interest of justice.

As the verdict was being announced count by count, Trump’s supporters and many Republican officials were already claiming that he was prosecuted and convicted solely for political reasons.

Democrats have made similar charges of political intent in Florida, where a Trump-­appointed federal judge seems to be slow-walking the secret documents case against him. Decisions by that judge will likely keep that case from coming to trial before the November election.

And in the most important case — the allegation that Trump tried to overthrow the 2020 election — the U.S. Supreme Court has delayed a ruling on presidential immunity, which virtually guarantees that Trump will not be tried in that case before the election. Many Americans fear that this is a major failing of our legal system.

It is too soon to say whether our legal system will hold up and whether the judicial branch will be able to preserve the institutions of our republic or the republic itself. But with respect to this one case in New York, our system functioned normally and properly.

Trump claimed that the 2016 election was rigged — until he won. He has continued to claim that the 2020 election was rigged. It was not. He lost. Both Democratic and Republican judges have ruled that he lost. But many Americans have lost faith in our elections as a result of this “Big Lie.”

We can only hope that people’s faith in our judicial system will not be shaken by false claims that Trump’s prosecution was politically motivated and that this trial was rigged. We must let justice run its course in this case.