Thread by @KatiePhang

And the Trump trial has begun...

The People have advised that their Opening Statement will take 45 minutes.

The defense says 25 minutes for its Opening.

UPDATE on trial scheduling today: Court will recess at 12:30 pm ET today, not 2 pm.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is present today, seated behind his team in the front row.

Once again, it does not appear that there are any members of Trump's family present in the courtroom today.

Re. Michael Cohen's testimony, Judge Merchan has drafted a limiting instruction to be read to the jury. Neither party objects to it.

Judge Merchan then addressed the defense's renewed objection from last week regarding the introduction of the Access Hollywood transcript. He rules that he will not revisit the issue so the transcript will still be allowed to be used.

Now, Judge Merchan announces his ruling from the bench on the People's Sandoval Notice:

If Trump takes the stand the people can inquire about the following six determinations, in four separate proceedings:
-Feb 16, 2024 he violated the law by fraudulently misstating the value of his assets
-Oct 28, 2022 he failed to remove an untrue personally identifying post about law clerk and was fined $5000
-Oct 21, 2023 he intentionally violated court order by continually attacking court clerk & fine was $10,000
-Carroll v Trump the defendant defamed E. Jean Carroll by making false statements
-Carroll v Trump II the defendant made false statements about Carroll with actual malice
-NYAG v Trump Donald J Trump Foundation engaged in repeated and willful self dealing transactions

The judge now is reading the preliminary jury instructions to the jurors so that they have an understanding of what to expect during the course of this trial.

The jurors are advised that they can take notes, if they so choose. The notes cannot be a distraction, though, for them during the trial. The notes are to refresh their recollection and are for that juror's own personal use.