Editor’s note: David Orentricher is the Judge Jack and Lulu Lehman Professor of Constitutional Law and Health Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He also serves as a Democrat in the Nevada State Assembly. The views expressed in this commentary are his own.view more opinions On CNN.
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Between March and August, prosecutors indicted former President Donald Trump on four criminal charges. In September, New York Civil Court Judge Arthur Engelon ruled that Mr. Trump committed business fraud when he sought financing for a real estate deal, and on Friday, Mr. Engelon was fined for the civil offense. . The judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in damages. It also barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for the next three years.
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While Friday’s ruling appears to be a significant setback for President Trump, it is more likely to be a defeat for the justice system in the end. So far, Trump’s indictment has increased his support, at least among Republicans, and eroded public trust in the legal process.
From July to December, Trump’s approval rating among Republican primary voters rose from 54% to 64%. Last month, Mr. Trump defeated his rival in the Iowa caucuses, more than doubling his 2016 vote in Iowa and moving into the lead in the New Hampshire primary. Trump appears to be doing better than Americans overall. According to a Wall Street Journal poll, President Joe Biden’s 2-point lead in December 2022 has reversed to President Trump’s 4-point lead this December.
It is imperative that Trump be held accountable for his misconduct, which could ultimately result in him serving time in prison if the courts decide on his four criminal cases. But so far, public officials have done more damage to the law than President Trump, going too far to punish the former president. The lawsuits are not only leading many voters to distrust Trump, they are also making them distrust the legal system.
After Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted President Trump in August for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, an ABC News poll found that 46% of Americans surveyed said the charges were politically motivated. Only 40% of people disagreed. In a June poll, more than 60% of Americans said they believed Mr. Smith’s indictment of Mr. Trump on charges of mishandling classified documents was politically motivated. A majority of Americans similarly told pollsters that they saw no legal basis for charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol or hush money payments to cover up an extramarital affair. .
It is important that the public feels that the prosecution of Mr. Trump is justified. This is especially important for those planning to vote against Trump. But some prospective jurors in the defamation damages trial against E. Jean Carroll said they believed Trump was being treated unfairly by the legal system.
Other polls also reveal worrying trends. Gallup’s 2022 and 2023 surveys of major social institutions show that the U.S. Supreme Court, which has the final say on whether Trump should serve time in prison, be disqualified from running for president again, or go unpunished; Public confidence in the country has plummeted to a new and alarming low. .
No matter how the courts decide on Trump’s case, it is important that the public thinks he received a fair shake from the legal system. But in their zeal to pursue the former president, prosecutors and judges are pushing the limits of the law and undermining public trust.
For example, in a corporate fraud case, Engoron extended the law in a problematic way. A judge initially ordered Trump’s New York company to be dissolved when he concluded that the former president had been fraudulently inflating his net worth on financial statements with banks and other lenders. Additionally, his order applied to all companies, not just those involved in the fraudulent statements. But experts in New York state law say that applicable statutes only allow Engoron to punish companies accused of fraud, and even those companies have to force Engoron to shut down their operations. (This may explain why the Court of Appeal ruled that the dissolution order was suspended, and why Engoron did not include the dissolution in Friday’s judgment.)
Other cases are also tricky. If Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prevails in the hush money case, Trump will become the first candidate to be convicted of making such payments. In Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is using racketeering laws aimed at dismantling organized crime groups such as the Mafia to crack down on election fraud. And the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine Secretary of State relied on discredited punishments against antislavery opponents, labor rights advocates, and war protesters in disqualifying Trump from the primary vote. For many Americans, all of these distortions confirm the sense that the prosecution of President Trump is partisan.
Public servants are solidifying their support for Mr. Trump amid the erosion of public trust. It’s no surprise that Trump appears to be benefiting from his legal troubles. Trump regularly mobilizes voters, arguing that his own prosecutions are politically motivated and aimed at containing himself and his supporters. Stretching the law in questionable ways only strengthens his case.
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Certainly, just because President Trump might use efforts to hold him accountable, law enforcement officials shouldn’t slack off. But authorities need to be more cautious in their efforts. If prosecutors and judges go too far, they could capitalize on President Trump’s victimization strategy, increase his chances of re-election, and undermine public confidence in our judicial system.