If Donald J. Trump is convicted, it will be up to Justice Juan M. Merchan to decide whether his punishment will include prison time.
Mr. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the coverup of a $130,000 hush money payment that was made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election.
All of the charges are class E felonies, or the lowest category of felony in New York State.
Each count carries the possibility of up to four years in prison. But if Mr. Trump is convicted on more than one count, Justice Merchan would likely impose the punishment concurrently, meaning he would have Mr. Trump to serve prison time on each of the counts simultaneously.
Incarceration is not a given: Justice Merchan could instead opt to impose a sentence of probation, with no prison time. Mr. Trump would then be required to regularly report to New York City’s Probation Department. He could also be jailed immediately if he committed additional crimes.
Justice Merchan would likely hand down Mr. Trump’s sentence several weeks after the guilty verdict. But it’s possible that any punishment could be delayed.
Mr. Trump, who is again the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will undoubtedly appeal any conviction, a lengthy process that could take months or longer and would likely not be resolved before Election Day. In that case, he would likely remain free until the appeal is resolved.
There has been no indication yet of what Justice Merchan would decide, though he has made it known that he takes white-collar crime seriously. Mr. Trump has continually attacked and decried him as “biased” and “corrupt.”
