I think it was deliberate.

[Trueblue Texan]

So Alina Habba goes into the courtroom and starts bitching at the judge about the way the case is running. Where's the jury? she wants to know. The judge informs her defense didn't request a jury trial. She looks like an incompetent fool, but continues to berate the judge and the proceeding.

There is no way she overlooked requesting a jury trial by mistake.

She played the part of a complete incompetent because that is the strategy for appeal. It's the only strategy they have. The documentation makes the case. There is no gray area. The entire performance yesterday was yet another Hail Mary.

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. HubbaBubba is auditioning for FauxSnooze IMO.

[ck4829]

2. I'm thinking antics like that will get you disbarred in a heartbeat

But if she wants to do that, OK.

[Jersey Devil]

3. She didn't make a mistake

Part of what the court must decide in this case is the possible forefeiture of Trump's right to do business in New York, the effect on his licenses and business charters, the size of fines and penalties, etc. These are not questions of fact to be decided by a jury. They invoke the court's "equitable jurisdiction" under which there is no right to a jury trial.

[Trueblue Texan]

4. I wish you'd tell that to the legal pundits.

One of them called it legal malpractice. Getting that idea out is the whole point. But truly, TFG ALWAYS choose incompetents and he often does it deliberately. And if not deliberately, then consequently. He fires anyone who doesn't tell him what he wants to hear, assuring only the incompetent who tell him only what he wants to hear remain on the payroll. Then he can blame advice of counsel or other expert when or if he ever gets caught. That, in a nutshell, has always been his main strategy, no matter which crime he's been accused.

[rubbersole]

17. But, but Rudeeee...

[Escurumbele]

39. "TFG ALWAYS choose incompetents"..He doesn't have a choice, the A-List of lawyers don't want to

get close to him, they all know he is a criminal, a loud mouth difficult to control, he doesn't pay his lawyers, and even if he did, they also know that trump has the unMidas touch, everything he touches turns to crap, when you have a reputable law business, why would you want to risk it to try to defend the indefensible, its Kamikaze.

[rzemanfl]

43. Correct. That does not mean she wouldn't have had to ask for a jury before she

could complain about not getting one.

[gab13by13]

5. I heard from someone who was in the courtroom,

that Habba was not planning on speaking until Trump prodded her to say something.

[Tickle]

6. Is it true that 80% of the case got dropped?

I keep reading this on twitter and I'm googling but getting conflicted info.

[SpamWyzer]

12. Statute of limitations

applies to all cases before 2014. By law, they cannot be tried. But AG James still has almost 10 years of proof to offer. 80% of the details from before 2014 are gone, but the rest is in play, the summary judgment remains.

[sanatanadharma]

21. Even if true, just shows how much 'crime-ing' he was doing

Just shows how much 'crime-ing' he was doing when only 20% is enough to jail him for life.

[thesquanderer]

48. though in this case, jail isn't a factor... the penalties would only be financial

(including his ability to continue to operate businesses in New York)

[hjh3rd]

38. I may be mistaken

but I think the prosecution said yesterday that each use of the fraudulent financial statements restarts the statue of limitations timing.

[Escurumbele]

41. Watch Nicole Wallace from yesterday, that is not true that 80% was thrown out.

I cannot explain it, but that is what trump understood, but then again, as always, his understanding is flawed. I believe it was Andrew Weissman who explained it, and he said it is not true, he is liable for everything. Statute of limitations does not play a part in the indictment, it does not help him. At least that is what I understood.

[maxrandb]

18. The 80% of the case got dropped is coming from the Donnie Dipshit "fluffers"

It just means that stuff prior to 2014 "might" not be usable due to statute of limitations. It's NOT 80% of the case, but, it is what the MAGAt humpers would likely you to believe.

For some reason, there are folks, even some on DU that appear to make it their life's work to convince folks of the "invincibility" of Donnie Dipshit.

So, we've got about 50 years of fraud, but maybe....and it's a big MAYBE, only 10 years of it can be adjudicated by a court.

It would be like a bank robber robbing banks for 50 years, but only getting caught last year.

I guess you could say "80% of his bank robberies have been dropped".

Al Capone was convicted for tax evasion. So you could say; "he got away with 80% of his crimes".

Doesn't change the fact that he died in a syphilitic coma in federal prison.

We should treat the "80% of the case has been dropped" with the same seriousness as a poll showing Donnie Dipshit having a 30 point lead among young voters.

They both are designed and pushed to try to demotivate and discourage Democrats.

[617Blue]

7. No - she's that incompetent.

She's there because Dump thinks she's hot and she's willing to go on TV and say silly things. I doubt she's doing any actual lawyering for him.

[jimfields33]

8. I don't understand the values of property

My taxes are based on the county saying my house is worth 145,000. Zillow has my house at 345,000. If I take out a loan, I can’t use the 345,000 figure? I must use the 145,000 figure? It is confusing.

[rainin]

11. My bank sent out an appraiser

who asked me what number I wanted and gave me that exact number on my appraisal. The number isn't even close to the tax value.

[aggiesal]

19. In California that would be illegal after the mortgage meltdown ...

When I had an appraiser, I was told not to be around.

[Rebl2]

22. My county

a few months ago said our house was worth 590,000. No way in my town is any house worth that (and we were told it wasn’t). They did assessments late last year and apparently the company from TX they gave the contract to really screwed up. Thousands of people protested their assessment. Some were successful at getting it lowered and others were not. The man my husband met with at the county accessor office immediately said no way a house in our small town was worth $590,000. We were able to get value reduced by quite a bit. Had we not done anything, our real estate taxes would have gone up to over $10,000. We are on a fixed income and it would have been devastating.

[jimfields33]

27. I'm so glad you were able to get it lowered. That's awful they even tried to screw people

[mchill]

42. And they say Texas is better than California for taxes??

I pay 1% of purchase price here and it can only rise 2% a year, making my effective property tax rate about 0.3% at the moment. Yes, it can be unfair, because a new neighbor could be paying much more for a similar house.

As a senior on a crappy pension, I’m very thankful for the Proposition 13 that made this so. The precipitate rise in real estate values in the Bay Area was killing seniors in the late 1970’s.

[tinrobot]

25. In California, the property tax valuation might not equal the real estate price

Prop 13 in California limits how much the property tax can go up. I think it is around 2% per year. That tax base resets when the property is sold.

So, if real estate prices rise quickly and you hold on to your house for a decade or more, those numbers will be very different.

[VMA131Marine]

31. Property tax valuations almost never equal

the fair market value of a property. Zillow gives an estimate of the fair market value but a professional appraisal is needed to come up with a value you could use in a loan application.

The property tax assessment serves a different purpose. The goal is to value your property in comparison to the others in your town or tax district. The town sets the property tax rate so that the total assessed value of property in the town multiplied by the tax rate equals the portion of the town budget that needs to come from property taxes.

[jimfields33]

32. Thank you. That makes so much sense.

[MLAA]

33. If you take out a loan the bank will use the appraised value, likely something close to Zillow's

Estimate. 😉

[dpibel]

34. Hard to believe

you don't actually know the answer to that question.

It takes a lot of naivete not to know that there's often a difference between the tax-assessed value and the market value.

And if you take out a loan, the bank's going to decide the number, not you.

But, TBH, I think you know that.

[MichMan]

51. "if you take out a loan, the bank's going to decide the number, not you"

Apparently not in this case, since the basis of the charges is that the properties were wildly overvalued for loan purposes.

[dpibel]

53. I'd respectfully submit

That there's a considerable difference between the poster's situation--one small human with one asset--and Trump's.

Even so, the honest error scenario that the poster posits is inapposite.

The better case would be that the tax assessed value of the poster's house is $145,000, Zillow says it's $345,000, and the poster applies for a loan saying the house is worth $4.5 million.

Anyone confused about that?

Cuz far as I know, Trump's case is not about the diff between tax-assessed and fair market. It's about fair market vs lunatic imagination.

[MichMan]

54. I get it, but in that scenario the bank would do due diligence and would never lend $4.5 million

Banks of that size have lots of people to evaluate how much properties are worth before loaning money. Not sure what happened here

[dpibel]

56. So it's your view that Mr. Trump

is being ill-treated here?

[MichMan]

57. No, my view is that if the banks lent him way more than his property was worth based on his word

they acted very reckless. These cases are confusing to me. The judge already found him guilty of fraud, but all I know is that he overvalued his property, and banks and insurance companies were defrauded. Maybe it will make more sense as the trial goes on.

[MichMan]

35. I'm confused about this as well

The allegations are that Trump undervalued his properties for tax purposes. I thought there were government paid assessors that determined what the taxable values are. Did NY just take Trump's word for it?

[thesquanderer]

46. Two things...

One, from what I've seen so far, this "penalty phase" at least is based, not on his undervaluing for tax purposes, but on his over-valuing for other purposes (i.e. loan applications).

But when it comes to valuation for tax purposes, I don't know about the situation in this case, but in general the government basically takes everyone's word for any of their declarations... until/unless they get audited. But along the lines of what you said, when it comes to property tax, at least in NY, the local county has a formula for their own tax-assessments of your property value for tax purposes (which does not equate to current market value), which you can dispute if you think it comes out too high.

[Escurumbele]

44. The loan will go against your equity based on the market value of the home. If you paid 100% of your

home and the market value is $345,000.00 you can get a loan close to that market value, but not all, so you cannot get a loan for the $345,000.00. Depending on the loan provider, they will evaluate it based on that market value, and of course your credit score.

It has nothing to do with the tax assessment.

[ECL213]

49. Every county is different...

Many counties set a percentage of the fair market value at which they assess the property. My county assesses property at 66% of the FMV, so if they say my property's assessed value is $200K, then they have determined the FMV is $300K, roughly.

Some counties use 33%, other just use 100%. It's all over the map.

A lender would be looking at the FMV, though. They sure as shit aren't going to take my word for it if I'm trying to get a loan.

This case, though, isn't just about how Dipshit Donnie valued Mar-A-Lago. That's just what his people are using to deflect from the other 199 instances where the NY AG says he fraudulently fudged his numbers. It's all part of a "pattern and practice" of fraud including:

Representing that Mr. Trump had cash on hand that he did not;
Ignoring critical restrictions that would significantly lower property values when setting valuations;
Changing the methodology used to value properties from year to year, without reason or notice;
Using vastly different methods to value different properties even in the same year; and
Including intangible items, such as brand premiums, when calculating an asset’s value, despite representing in the statements that such items were not included.

[FakeNoose]

61. Zillow works for the real estate agents who WANT to sell property for the highest price possible

However, as in anything else, it's not actually worth $345,000 until somebody pays that much for it. What if nobody does? Then it's not really worth $345,000.

Your county wants to collect tax on the "actual value" of the last selling price. It's always debatable because some properties don't turn over very often, maybe once in 30 or 40 years. But right next door is a house that's been sold every 5 years for the last 40 years. So the value of the frequently-sold house probably 5 or 10 times more.

Inflation is always an issue, and recently sold properties are almost always valued higher.

[Bluethroughu]

9. Yep, delay delay delay until he wins the Presidency.

Then he'll pardon himself and make himself king.

[dchill]

10. Sounds like a plan.

[malaise]

13. He will not even be their candidate next year

That is all

[DENVERPOPS]

47. That makes me wonder

if the Repubs don't make Trump their candidate for President, will he run as an independent, and any speculation on what affect would that have on the overall presidential election........

[Bluethroughu]

50. Don't tease me.

Hopefully in a cell with a toilet and cot.

[mitch96]

30. Putin is banking on this also. With tfg in the whitehous there goes all the aid for Ukraine..nt

[Bluethroughu]

52. Tfg and republican enablers are treason infested goons.

[onenote]

14. This decision suggests that Trump had no right to a jury trial

As a matter of law, in New York (and in various other jurisdictions), a defendant has no right to a jury trial in an action brought for equitable relief. In the case linked below, the complaint was brought under Executive Law Section 63(12) .. the same provision of law cited in the complaint filed by James against Trump.

https://casetext.com/case/people-v-first-am-corp-2

[Native]

15. She's not that smart.

[mopinko]

16. i believe that the opposite of the old saw is true-

hanlon’s razor says- never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity.

imho, this is how gw bush got away w murder.
mo’s razor says- stupid is the best disguise evil ever had.

[Trueblue Texan]

20. THIS!!! nt

[Martin68]

23. A Hail Mary doomed to failure. A mistake like this, which has no consequences for the defendant

except to embarrass his attorney will not be grounds for appeal.

[Obvious85]

24. The GOOD NEWS

is an appeal wont change the cold-hard facts of the decades long paper trail of his fraud. Cut and Dry

[edbermac]

26. Aren't lawyers present for jury selection?

So why is she asking where the jury is?

[NJCher]

40. yep

I guess she thought they skipped voir dire, LOL.

Anyway, good point that no one else has mentioned.

In addition, I don't agree with the OP's position because there are some fairly stringent rules regarding the incompetence of an attorney. Every found-guilty party thinks their attorney was incompetent, so needless to say, over the years the rules about how to decide whether an attorney was actually incompetent have "evolved," if you want to call it that.

Many of these rules involve timing, so if he's going to appeal, he has to be observing those rules right now. Usually it's two weeks to simply notify and even if he does that, it doesn't necessarily mean he is going to appeal, it just means he's going to preserve the right to appeal.

[Trueblue Texan]

60. I suspect you are correct...

...but I know little about the law. However, just because it's true, Trump would still try to take advantage of the system or at least public opinion. Adds to the strength of his victim card.

[RosevilleSparky]

28. The judge has done his homework..!

TFG’S legal history is populated obfuscation and delays, all taught to him by Roy Cohen. The single aim is to corrupt THIS trial and push for appeal after appeal, each one more confused and screwed up.
I don’t think it will work this time, so stand by for more outside theater and implied chaos. Got enough popcorn??

[Escurumbele]

45. Roy Cohn.

[Joinfortmill]

29. The show was for Trump. He's probably poking her. Ugh.

[Escurumbele]

36. " There is no way she overlooked requesting a jury trial by mistake." There is, she does seem to be

incompetent, there is no benefit in forgetting to request jurors, even more when the judge has already found him guilty of one count. They know the judge knows trump is a criminal.

[MLAA]

37. This is a very clear explanation from msnbc.

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-bench-trial-new-york-fraud-rcna118455# (Scroll down)



The former president called it “very unfair” that he doesn’t have a jury. But Engoron noted when the trial kicked off on Monday that the former president's legal team didn’t even ask for one.

And even if Trump's team had made such a request, it's not clear he would've gotten a jury, anyway, given the nature of what New York Attorney Letitia James is seeking, including what's known as "disgorgement" of financial benefits obtained through fraud. The bottom line is that there can be legal disputes over whether parties are entitled to juries, depending on what's at stake in a given case. And regardless of whether Trump's lawyers had a master plan when they declined to press the issue, it's unclear they would have been successful had they done so.

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump lawyer Alina Habba said a jury trial was never an option in this case:

The Attorney General filed this case under a consumer protection statute that denies the right to a jury. There was never an option to choose a jury trial. It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.

[EndlessWire]

59. I disagree.

"It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened."

From what I have heard of Trump's defense, from his own mouth, he hasn't got a defense that would stand up in court. He is basically saying that whatever he thought about the value of his property from moment to moment is all he needs to prevail. The overall arc of "the Saudis would pay me anything I asked" is not evidence that is admissible in court. It's an opinion or wishful thinking.

If you overinflate the value of property presented to a bank, then underinflate the value to the taxman, that's called fraud. The judge didn't pull those figures out of his ass. That comes from Donald's own manipulation of the values. He can't blame that on the DA or the judge. He can blame himself.

As far as the OP asked about whether Habba did it on purpose, maybe. It is odd that she is sitting there as part of his team when he is supposed to have fired her. If she had truly effed up, he probably would have been enraged at her. Instead, there she is. Anyone else would have checked the box anyway, in order to preserve the issue despite the statute.

So, it may well be that this issue of getting a jury or not, and if he had competent counsel, may well just be a trial tactic for a guy who really has no defense.

There is certainly questionable judgment over Trump's continuing threats of physical harm to the Court and DA. At this point, any one of his many judges could give him pretrial detainment. He is absolutely receiving special privileges. How much can a guy complain about how he is being mistreated when he gets to call for his fans to off the Judges?

It is amusing when he says, over and over, that the DA should go after hardened criminals and leave his kind of soft criminality alone. After all, he paid the defrauded banks back, didn't he? He says that because there aren't any victims, or that the victims have been paid off, that he should be allowed to continue his cheating ways. That's absurd.

I think he's in the deep doo doo.

[central scrutinizer]

62. Disgorgement is my new favorite word

After gorging on grift for decades, Yambo is being force fed a gallon of ipecac. Ivermectin might also be needed.

[MLAA]

63. I'm hoping disgorgement also will involve a light shoved up somewhere 😬

[onenote]

64. Link to case indicating that no jury trial is allowed in a case such as this:

https://casetext.com/case/people-v-first-am-corp-2

The provision of NY law cited in the case, Executive Law 63(12) is the same provision cited by James in the complaint against Trump.

This suggests that even if Trump has asked for a jury trial, the judge may have been obligated to deny that request.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

55. NO.

"She played the part of a complete incompetent..." because that is exactly what she is.

[Elessar Zappa]

58. Well, it's not going to work.

For one thing, she IS incompetent.