March 4, 2024 — that's the start date Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed for the trial of former President Donald Trump and his 18 allies, who were indicted on a total of 41 counts related to their alleged interference in Georgia's 2020 presidential election.
The proposed trial date is also one day before Super Tuesday, when over a dozen states will hold their primaries — the highest number of states in a single day — in the 2024 presidential race.
In the court filing, Willis also proposed the week of Sept. 5 for all 19 defendants to appear for the arraignment. It will be the fourth arraignment for the 2024 Republican presidential candidate in a case that could be the most consequential for him in the long run.
Trump and the other defendants have until noon on Aug. 25 to voluntarily surrender, a deadline also set by Willis. While it’s unclear when exactly Trump and others will be booked, we do know the process will be different this time.
The surrender and booking location
This time, Trump and his allies are expected to surrender at the Fulton County jail, instead of the Fulton County courthouse, according to the local sheriff.
"At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorney's office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail," a press release from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office stated on Aug. 15.
The statement also said the jail is open 24/7, and the defendants can surrender at any time.
This would be the first time Trump would surrender at a jail, instead of at a federal courthouse in Miami and Washington, D.C., or at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, for his three previous indictments.
The mug shot and fingerprints
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office says most defendants are typically processed and booked, with their fingerprints and mug shots taken.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said the regular booking process will still apply, even for the former president. “Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices,” Labat told reporters.
Most defendants are typically processed and booked, with their fingerprints and mug shots taken. “So it doesn’t matter your status, we have mug shots ready for you,” Labat added.
If a mug shot were to be taken, it would be a first for the former president. Trump didn't have a mug shot taken after he was indicted in the Manhattan hush-money case, the federal classified documents or election fraud cases.
And just like every other booking in New York state court, Florida federal court, and D.C. federal court, Trump will be fingerprinted yet again, this time in Georgia.
The arraignment
There’s a chance that the arraignment for Trump and the other defendants, which is likely to be the week of Sept. 5, might be virtual.
"In Fulton County, GA, the booking process and arraignment/appearance process in criminal cases are two separate things. In this case, some arraignments/appearances may be virtual as dictated by the presiding judge," according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office press release.
TV cameras
If Trump appears in-person for the arraignment, this will be the first criminal hearing of Trump’s where TV cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom.
News photography and the televising of the courtroom is allowed under Georgia law, as long as it doesn't interfere or disrupt the proceedings. And interference or disruption is certainly feasible when the trial gets underway.
“I think what might happen is that certain testimony might not be televised because a witness is really risking their life, where we’ve seen death threats in the past ... and I would think that they would want to keep the camera off the jury box the whole time,” Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, told Yahoo News.
Still photos were allowed during the former president’s arraignment inside a Manhattan courtroom in April. But since Trump’s two other arraignments were in federal courtrooms, still photography, video recording and cellphones were not allowed.
