Supreme Court delays Trump 2020 election trial

Trump argues he has total legal immunity for any alleged crimes committed in office

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

published 29 February 2024

What happened?

The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider former President Donald Trump's argument that he has total legal immunity for any alleged crimes committed in office. That decision delays the federal criminal trial on Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 loss, plausibly until after the 2024 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith filed felony charges against Trump in August, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan set a March 5 trial date. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Trump's immunity claim the week of April 22. If the court rules against Trump, as expected, pretrial activity — frozen since mid-December — would resume and might last roughly 80 days. That would likely put jury selection in late August to October, barring further delays.

This is a "colossal victory for Trump," who openly aims to "delay his trials until after Election Day," then kill them if he wins, Ian Millhiser said at Vox. His appeal needn't take three months, said legal analyst Tristan Snell. "The Supreme Court heard and decided Bush v. Gore in THREE DAYS." It has never been the justice system's job to "save the country from Trump," said Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor. "The voters need to do that."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.