For the first time in history a former U.S. President is standing criminal trial, and Joe Morris, PhD., chair of the Political Science Department at Mercyhurst University, believes more than Donald Trump's personal future is at stake.  "It's unprecedented, so it's a gray area and we're kind of muddling our way through this as we go," Morris said.  "There will undoubtedly be legal challenges, there will be cases before the Supreme Court if Donald Trump finds himself in jail and is still elected president of the United States."

New York state prosecutors accuse Donald Trump of falsifying records, a misdemeanor offense in the state, but the former president is facing trial on felony charges.  Attorney John Mizner explained why.  "And what takes a crime from a misdemeanor to a felony is if that false entry is being used to facilitate or conceal another crime," Mizner said.  "I think what people have to really look at is whether the prosecution will be able to prove to a jury that the purpose of the false entries was to affect a federal election as opposed to protecting him from the feelings of his wife, or family members," he added.

If convicted, Trump could still hold office. But how might voters process that?  Professor Morris said it's something voters should think about. "If Donald Trump finds himself in a position where he's likely to serve jail time and that is something that occurs before the election, do we as Americans think it would be a good idea for someone to try to be president of the United States from a jail cell? "

Mizner says the outcome all depends on the jurors chosen. "The reality is the defense is simply looking for one or two people that are strong willed, strong minded, who are likely to see the case from their particular point of view and to hope for a mistrial," he said. 

Even if there is a conviction, he doesn't expect the former president to be sent right to jail. "I would suspect that the judge would allow a former president to stay out of jail until his appellate rights are exhausted to ensure for everyone's benefit," Attorney Mizner said.

No jurors were selected on Monday.  Dozens were excused after saying that they could not be fair and impartial and just consider the facts.  The court also dealt with a number of pre-trial motions, including whether Donald Trump was adhering to a gag order, based on recent social media posts on Truth Social.

As the trial proceeds, if Mizner was Donald Trump's attorney, how would he advise his client?  "Behave like a gentleman, shut your mouth, keep your fingers to themselves," he said.

Professor Morris said, because of Donald Trump's ability to spin, the trial could work to his political advantage. "He does it incredibly well probably better than any president in my lifetime with the exception maybe of Ronald Reagan.  He's good at it.  There's a possibility that this turns out ultimately to be a win for Donald Trump if he can persuade voters, as he is trying very hard to do, that this is a political witch hunt, then he's going to be successful, more successful than he would have been in 2024," Morris said.