New York judges appear divided on upholding Trump’s Manhattan criminal conviction

A panel of New York state appeals court judges appeared divided Thursday on whether to uphold the president’s ruling. that of Donald Trump criminal conviction for a hush money scheme to conceal an alleged affair with Stormy Daniels .

Arguing before a panel of five judges of the First Department, Appellate Division, Asset lawyer Robert Giuffra and a lawyer in the Manhattan district attorney’s office argued against prosecutors’ use of an alleged violation of federal election law to elevate what could have been a misdemeanor violation to a felony charge.

In May 2024, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsification of commercial documents in relation to its payments to Daniels . Despite the felony conviction, the judge in the case sentenced Asset to a “unconditional release” meaning he served no prison time.

Nevertheless, Trump has repeatedly tried to overturn the verdict, not only by appealing but also trying to get the file transferred to federal court . In August, a federal judge rejected Trump’s third attempt to transfer the case. Asset is now appealing this decision.