If and when Donald Trump decides to appeal his criminal conviction, oral arguments will likely be heard first by a midlevel appeals court panel comprised of five African American women.
Another possibility is that he could appeal directly to the Court of Appeals, which usually only happens in extreme circumstances.
The historic court makeup was announced in February of 2024 during Black History Month.
In its 130-year history, the Appellate Division, First Department, the prestigious, Manhattan-based midlevel appeals court, has never held oral arguments before an all-African American bench.
That streak was broken this year on Valentine’s Day, when Presiding Justice Dianne T. Renwick and Associate Justices Troy K. Webber, Tanya R. Kennedy, Bahaati Pitt-Burke and Marsha D. Michael took the bench at the First Department’s courthouse on Manhattan’s Madison Square Park.
The five-judge panel heard arguments in appeals for a host of civil matters, including a fraud lawsuit involving the Stardust Diner in Manhattan, which is famous for its show tune-singing wait staff; and a suit that former Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros filed against her ghostwriter.
Salon writes that Trump and his team will throw everything they can with an appeal on his conviction of 34 felonies in the hush money case.
Trump is expected to appeal any conviction.
“They're gonna throw in everything,” Bader said. “If you're going to appeal you're going to raise every plausible issue.”
Bader said that after sentencing, Trump’s defense team could file a notice of appeal and submit briefs to the appellate division.
“There's an automatic right of appeal,” Bader said.
Trump could appeal based around discovery issues – including what was turned over to the defense pre-trial.
Trump’s lawyers, as expected, filed unsuccessful motions throughout proceedings asking the judge to dismiss the case — including arguing that Cohen was not credible.
"The power of this sisterhood -- what we know and our history -- we have such a wealth of experience and knowledge in different areas of the law. That’s what makes this bench one of the best benches. This is an important history. This bench is important and little girls, little boys, young attorneys, women and men they need to see this and understand why it’s important,”
After a conviction, Trump would have 30 days to state in writing that he will appeal. He would have months more to file his actual appeal, said Karen Friedman Agnifilo, criminal defense attorney and former executive chief of the trial division and chief assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District attorney’s office. Once the appeal is filed, it would still take additional months before the appeals court hears oral arguments and potentially months more before the court renders a decision.
The PDF file from the Court of Appeals does stream oral arguments on YouTube. How fun will that be?
