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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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Trump was convicted by a jury of his peers

Trump despises the legal system and the rule of law, except when it serves his interests.

previous day 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The verdict of history: Trump is guilty

Trump vowed to appeal, but he is unlikely to fare very well.

31.05.2024 5

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Who will hang next week, Trump or the jury?

I don’t think there will be a hung jury here. The evidence against Trump is so overwhelming that my bet is on a unanimous verdict of conviction.

27.05.2024 40

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Justice Alito lets his freak flag fly

Alito acts like a legislator — a politician in robes.

20.05.2024 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Will Trump take the stand?

The concern will be that the jury expects Trump to take the stand — as does the ultimate jury, the American voters who make up the court of...

17.05.2024 70

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

In Cohen vs. Trump, which liar will the jury believe?

Cross examination has rightfully been called an art. It is the drama of the law.

14.05.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Will the Supreme Court crown King Donald?

No wonder the public perceives the justices not as jurists but as politicians in robes.

27.04.2024 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s moaning about being forced off the campaign trail is nonsense

There really should be no legal obstacle to his giving the trial a pass and hitting the campaign trail, or luxuriating on the golf course at...

24.04.2024 30

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Picking a jury in Manhattan: The art of the feel

There are difficulties in picking an impartial panel in a city where a celebrity defendant is widely loathed.

17.04.2024 40

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The trials of O.J. and Trump — a study in parallels

Trump said he could murder someone on Fifth Avenue and his base wouldn’t care, just as Simpson murdered two people and his base didn’t care.

14.04.2024 30

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Judge Merchan vs. Roy Cohn’s protege

Trump’s attacks on the Merchans are two-pronged and are nothing new.

05.04.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s attacks on judges and their families threaten us all

This is not a left/right issue. Threatening judges and their families, and exposing them to violence, crosses a red line in any civilized society.

01.04.2024 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The end of the Fani Willis affair

Judge Scot McAfee’s 23-page opinion reads like a chapter from a paperback novel found at an airport newsstand.

16.03.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump wins again in the MAGA Supreme Court

Judges are not supposed to rewrite constitutional provisions they find objectionable on policy grounds, and they are not supposed to invent new...

05.03.2024 2

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Is it time for Jack Smith to throw in the towel on prosecuting Trump?

With the clock running out, and the Supreme Court having no appetite for proceeding on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s timetable, it seems more likely...

04.03.2024 70

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Has the Supreme Court gone ga-ga or MAGA?

It is extraordinary, in my experience, for a court to enjoin the start of a criminal trial. But this is an extraordinary case.

01.03.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Rocky Mountain low: Colorado’s lawyer didn’t get it right before the Supreme Court

Jason C. Murray was articulate and plainly spoken in his maiden oral argument before the court, but the answers he gave to the justices’ questions...

10.02.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Can Trump delay his legal reckoning past Election Day?

The justice system is supposed to work for the people. But in Trump’s case, it may not.

04.02.2024 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

If the conservative justices actually believe in originalism, they must disqualify Trump

Retired conservative Judge J. Michael Luttig has just filed a devastating amicus brief in which he sticks it to the conservatives on the bench by...

01.02.2024 50

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

With Trump’s victory in Iowa, we’re inching toward autocracy

Trump is not running for anything; he is running against. He is running against politics. He is running against democracy.

19.01.2024 40

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s immunity appeal was both laughable and frightening

Trump's lawyer argued for a sweeping immunity that would put the president above and beyond the law. It’s a world that no American should want to...

10.01.2024 30

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

To disqualify or not to disqualify: The Supreme Court confronts the ‘laugh test’

The reactionary Supreme Court is in a quandary as to how to decide the Trump disqualification case while retaining whatever credibility it has left.

08.01.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Will Trump’s disqualification case be Bush v. Gore for 2024?

There are no good options for the six Republican-appointed justices on the beleaguered Supreme Court.

02.01.2024 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Is the Colorado decision a Rocky Mountain high?

The decision is not a gift to the unpopular President Biden. It is a gift to Trump’s Republican primary opponents.

21.12.2023 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Is a president immune from prosecution? The Supreme Court will decide.

Under the Constitution, the defendant is entitled to a speedy trial — and so is the public.

12.12.2023 80

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s ‘similar acts’ unveiled before his election interference trial

Courts vary as to how they handle “similar act” evidence.

07.12.2023 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Santos, Menendez, Trump: The ethics mirage in Washington

Republicans are right to be concerned about the Santos expulsion. The new standard could be readily applied to Donald Trump.

04.12.2023 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

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