Federal judge Aileen Cannon has set the trial date for former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, CNBC reports.
The federal judge in Florida ordered Tuesday that the criminal trial will begin August 14th of this year.
The date is set and not far away, but legal experts do not expect the trial to begin that early.
Many complex legal issues need to be resolved before the jury can hear evidence in the case, the report states.
CNBC reports:
Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was indicted earlier this month on more than three dozen criminal charges related to his keeping hundreds of classified records after he left the White House in January 2021.
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In the order Tuesday, Judge Aileen Cannon told Department of Justice prosecutors and lawyers for Trump to file all pre-trial motions by July 24. Cannon also ordered that all hearings in the case, including the trial, will be held in U.S. District Court in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The case against Trump is occurring in the federal Southern District of Florida, which is known for its so-called “rocket docket,” a reference to judges scheduling and pushing for trials to start quickly compared to other federal jurisdictions.
In complex cases, however, it is common for both prosecutors and defense lawyers to agree to ask a judge to delay a trial to give them time to prepare their cases, and to sort out disputes over what evidence can be presented to jurors.
Former Trump lawyer Tim Parlatore stated that substantive motions to dismiss the indictment and motions for discovery will slow the case down.
He went further stating he couldn’t see the case going to trial within a year.
During a Fox News interview on Monday Trump stated, “before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out. These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things.”
A federal magistrate also ruled Monday that Trump and his lawyers are barred from releasing evidence obtained from prosecutors in the case to the media or the public.
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