Most commentators who have discussed Donald Trump’s pending criminal trials in New York, Florida and – with the late-day revelation on Aug. 1, 2023, that he has been indicted by a Washington, D.C., grand jury – in the nation’s capital, have concluded that those trials would require his presence. And that would compromise his ability to campaign vigorously for the Republican nomination and the presidency.
The U.S. Constitution protects defendants’ rights to be present at their criminal trials, prohibiting the government from holding trials against a defendant in the defendant’s absence. This rule differentiates the United States from other democracies that allow criminal trials to be held in the absence of the accused. For example, Italy tried and convicted Amanda Knox without her presence in Italy for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher. The conviction was later reversed.
