Trump's possible conviction and what happens to his voting rights: NPR

Former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, but legal experts tell NPR he is unlikely to be incarcerated.

A New York jury on Thursday found the former president guilty of 34 counts in his unprecedented hush money case. Trump called the lawsuit “disgraceful” and his legal team indicated it would appeal.

The charges — for falsifying business records to conceal another crime — carry a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but Trump could receive a much lesser sentence, such as probation.

Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, told NPR's Ximena Bustillo before the trial's conclusion that it was “highly unlikely that a person who has never been recognized guilty of a crime goes to prison…for his first offense.” , which is non-violent.

Paul Butler, a law professor and attorney at Georgetown University who is a former federal prosecutor and criminal law expert, also told NPR Thursday evening that Trump was unlikely to receive any prison time.

Some former prosecutors, however, told Politico that incarceration may be more likely than one might think.

New York Judge Juan Merchan scheduled sentencing for July 11, just a few days before the Republican National Convention.

Butler said Merchan could also suspend Trump's sentence until the appeal process is exhausted.

The conviction would also have a direct impact on Trump's voting rights. (There is no prohibition for him running for the president as a convicted felon.)

Voting rights for people with felony convictions differ from state to state. The former president is registered to vote in Florida.

“Florida has interpreted its law to say that a felony conviction in another state makes a person ineligible to vote in Florida,” said Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Marymount University and former state official. Department of Justice, to NPR earlier this year. “[But] only if the conviction renders the person ineligible to vote wherever the person was convicted. »

And New York restricts the voting rights of people convicted of crimes, but only while incarcerated.

So if Trump doesn't serve prison time for his conviction in New York, he will likely be able to vote this fall.

Stephen Fowler and Clayton Kincade contributed to this story.