Judge Denies Trump’s Request to Delay Sentencing

On Monday afternoon, in a decision that shouldn’t surprise anyone, Judge Juan Merchan decided on the motion of President-elect Donald Trump to stay sentencing for his Manhattan criminal case.

 

Trump’s lawyers filed a motion on Monday asking Merchan for a delay in the sentencing, which is currently scheduled for January 10. Trump will appeal the ruling of the court on immunity and the denial of the motion to dismiss due to his reelection. Trump’s attorneys indicated in that motion they would also be filing an appeal on Monday.

 

The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a reply Monday in opposition to Trump’s request.

 

 

“The Court should deny the defendant’s motion for an immediate stay and should proceed to sentencing as scheduled on January 10, 2025,” the DA’s office wrote in its response Monday.

 

Merchan ruled quickly on the motion, and as expected, denied it.

 

 

Merchan ordered:

 

This Court has reviewed Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds they are a repetition, for most, of the arguments he has previously raised, including his Criminal Procedure Law (“CPL”) SS330.30(1) Motion to vacate his verdict and dismiss the Indictment, and his “Clayton Motion”, to dismiss to serve justice, which both this Court denied in its Decision and Order dated respectively December 16, 2024, and Jan 3, 2025.

 

This court also finds that, for the most, the authorities relied on in the instant motion of the Defendant can be factually distinguished from the actual records or are legally inapplicable.

 

THEREFORE the motion of Defendant for a stay in these proceedings is DENIED, including the hearing for sentencing scheduled for 10 January 2025.

 

If Trump’s team has filed an appeal at the Appellate division, they will likely ask the court to grant an emergency stay for Friday’s proceedings. But if I was betting, I would bet on the sentence going through on Friday.