How the jury was selected in Trump's hush money trial

The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial was finalized Friday in Manhattan with six alternate jurors picked to join the panel of 12 that will ultimately decide the former president's fate. Opening arguments will begin Monday.

➡️ Here’s how jury selection worked

Prospective jurors — 18 at a time — were called into the courtroom, where Judge Juan Merchan read a summary of the charges against Trump and asked them if they felt they can be fair and impartial. The would-be jurors were also asked if they had any scheduling conflicts that would prevent them from attending every day of the trial, which could last more than six weeks.

Each prospective juror was then given a questionnaire with 42 questions that were negotiated and agreed upon by the prosecution and defense ahead of time.

✏️ Here’s that questionnaire

❌ Who got dismissed

Those who said they can’t be fair and impartial or had scheduling conflicts were immediately dismissed. Those that remained were then questioned individually by lawyers for the prosecution and defense.

Both sides were allowed to reject up to 10 prospective jurors without reason. The attorneys were also able to argue why they believed a would-be juror could not be fair and impartial. Merchan had the final say. Trump lashed out at the process in a post on Truth Social, saying he was under the impression the defense had "unlimited" strikes when picking the jury.

Trump’s lawyers repeatedly argued that the jury pool in the heavily Democratic city where Trump grew up had been tainted by publicity surrounding the case. Prosecutors countered that would-be jurors could know about the case — they just needed to keep an open mind.

🧐 What the lawyers — and public — know about the jury

Both sides know the names of the jurors, but only lawyers for both the prosecution and defense will have access to their addresses.

Trump — who has been admonished by Merchan for attacking prosecutors and court staffers on social media — is allowed to have their names but not their addresses. And he's not allowed to reveal the jurors’ identities to the public.

The public may never know the names of the jurors. Last month, Merchan granted a request by the prosecution to shield them to avoid possible harassment.

And earlier this week, Merchan pleaded with members of the media covering the trial not to publish any personal information about them after dismissing a seated juror who complained that aspects of her identity were publicly revealed.

“There's a reason this is an anonymous jury," he said.