Last month, Donald Trump claimed victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Upon the election, Trump requested his criminal charges be dismissed, but prosecutors favored freezing his trial until after his four-year term —both options raising moral concerns. 

In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts for falsifying business records, 11 of which are related to invoices from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, 11 related to checks and 12 related to ledger entries. While the vote was definitive, the president-elect may face extreme consequences. Trump will be the first convicted felon to serve as president. 

According to NPR, a July Supreme Court ruling gave president’s immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. In light of being elected to a second term in office, Trump’s lawyers requested the case be dismissed. Trump’s defense argued that the hush-money trial was based on evidence taken from Trump’s first presidential term.

Post-electoral victory, Trump’s request for a dismissal of his criminal conviction is already creating a huge delay in the overall case. 

According to the New York Times, his lawyers prompted in a recent letter to the District Attorney’s office “that [dismissing the case] would ‘avoid unconstitutional impediments to President Trump’s ability to govern,’ citing the ‘complex, sensitive and internally time-consuming’ presidential transition process.”

Manhattan prosecutors rejected the idea after a week of deliberating, and “determined that there was no law requiring the dismissal of a jury conviction obtained before a defendant was elected president.”

However, they are less opposed to considering a four-year freeze on his case until he is finished serving in office. 

According to The Week, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Braggs’ teams’ filing said, “We also deeply respect the fundamental role of the jury in our constitutional system.”

This ruling is proving difficult as both Bragg and Trump’s lawyers have requested to put a hold on the criminal trial in order to allow both sides to define and strengthen their arguments, originally delaying the sentencing to Nov. 26, but it is now delayed further. 

According to NPR, “The prosecutors’ office asked for a December 9 deadline for the next filing, focused on whether the case should be dismissed. The judge is likely to acquiesce to the request as both the defense and prosecution appear to be in agreement.”

Judge Juan Merchan is predicted to decide whether the case will be dismissed or frozen in the next couple of weeks, and according to the New York Times, “has vowed to apply ‘the rules of law evenhandedly.’”

President of the school’s mock trial club, Roma Panchal (12), notes the complexities of a frozen case. 

“Freezing a case usually happens when someone’s role or situation could interfere with the legal process, like Trump’s presidency,” Panchal said. “The courts consider whether proceeding would disrupt responsibilities or create bias, and if freezing the case serves the greater good of justice. It’s a high bar, but it’s also pretty subjective.”

Trump and his supporters are eager to clear his criminal record. 

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, told Fox News that the delay is “a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide…The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.’”

Many people are questioning the justice system’s morals behind dismissing, and even freezing Trump’s case.

Dean Smith (11),  co-vice president of the school’s mock trial club,  expressed his opinion regarding the trial. 

“There is a clear discrepancy between the details surrounding Trump’s trial and the details surrounding a trial where the defendant might usually receive a delay in sentencing,” Smith said.“A discrepancy that, let’s face it, invalidates the principle of a constitution Trump has been selected to ‘preserve, protect, and defend,’ as per the Oath of Office.” 

Panchal agreed that dismissing the case raises a concern as to whether the justice system gives fair treatment to all, including the president.

“It doesn’t look great,” Panchal said. “Freezing a case like this sends a message that powerful figures have loopholes the rest of us don’t. It undermines faith in the idea that the system treats everyone equally.” 

Julie Neubauer, AP European History and AP World History teacher at the school, challenged the idea of whether any leader with great power does not have some misconduct or secret. 

“I think that when you get to a position of political power at this level, it [is] challenging to find anyone who [is not] corrupt,” Neubauer said. “And I don’t think that you could cite in history anybody in a position of that much power and doesn’t have some skeletons in their closet.”

According to History, many presidents throughout the ages have had scandals, including Warren Harding’s secret daughter and both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s illicit partners. 

“Find me a president who hasn’t had some sort of illicit affair of some kind … many famous, many excellent presidents have been accused of adultery of some kind…So I think that it is immoral, but does that affect your presidency?” Neubauer said. “[It] is a harder question, because it goes to your character, but does it impede your ability to rule a country?” 

Smith pointed out that political privilege as a president has been, and is being exercised by both parties.

“Don’t be fooled, though, this critique of political privilege when it comes to the justice system isn’t a personal vendetta against Trump,” Smith said. “Another headline depicting the latest in current events highlights Biden’s controversial decision to grant a presidential pardon to his son, Hunter, who was convicted of lying on a gun application about drug addiction. Regardless of the circumstances encompassing his struggles, he was given a fair trial with a jury of his peers and ultimately found guilty. While pardons are a power permitted by the constitution, the ethics of this pardon become a question when we ask ourselves if Hunter Biden would’ve been pardoned without a direct tie to his father.”

One may question the morality of dismissing or freezing Trump’s case, but at the end of the day, the justice system enforces the laws set to exert the best interests of the U.S. and its residents.

“The belief of whether or not this is for the betterment of the country likely lies in our personal opinions of Trump,” Smith said. “I myself believe that politics aside, this is an undermining of the legal system, and for that reason, the delay predominantly harms America.”