​Recently we have seen several important developments in the ongoing criminal cases in Georgia and New York against Donald Trump.  

On September 6, Judge Merchan of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the trial court for the case,* pushed back sentencing for Trump’s “hush money” case to November 26. In the order for adjournment, the court cited its desire to “avoid any appearance . . . that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election . . . .” Re: People v. Trump at 3, People v. Trump, Ind. No. 71543-2023 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 6, 2024) . The order also states that the court will hand down a decision on Trump’s motion to vacate his conviction on November 12. The motion argues that the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Trump v. United States, 144 S. Ct. 2312 (2024), grants Trump immunity from criminal charges in this case. The New York court will rule on whether Trump v. United States applies and will proceed with sentencing two weeks later if not.  

This means that the sentencing, if Trump’s argument for immunity gets rejected, will not occur until after Election Day. 

On September 12, the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s case in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, dismissed three counts leveled against Trump and the co-defendants. Order on Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss Under the Supremacy Clause, Georgia v. Trump, Ind. No. 23SC188947 (Fulton Cnty. Super. Ct. Sept. 12, 2024). Defendants sought dismissal of the indictment under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which succeeded in part by having three counts against the co-defendants quashed. Two of the dropped counts, conspiracy to file false documents and filing false documents, were charged against Trump. The dismissal of two more charges against Trump means that he now faces eight charges in the Fulton County Superior Court, down from the original thirteen. The court ruled that the three dismissed counts lie beyond the state’s jurisdiction, and therefore must be thrown out.  

While the dismissal of these charges in Georgia can be viewed as a win by the Trump legal team, they have little time to celebrate, as the most serious charges against the former president—including racketeering—remain. 

You can read the order to dismiss counts in the Georgia case here. 

You can read the order moving back sentencing in the New York case here. 

*In the State of New York, the highest appellate court is known as the New York Court of Appeals.  Unlike most other states, the lower trial and appellate courts are known as the New York State Supreme Court.