The day ended with seven jurors selected. That’s not quite halfway to the 12 jurors + 6 backups needed to fill the jury box.
In the last few minutes of the day, the prosecution used two more peremptory challenges before that final juror was selected. That means both sides now have only four more opportunities to strike a potential juror without the judge agreeing that there is cause.
This should put the trial on track to finish jury selection later this week. However, next week court is in session only for two half days on Monday and Tuesday, and Tuesday has already been set aside to hear arguments over whether Trump’s social media posts violate the gag order. So don’t expect to hear any testimony until the first week of May. It’s possible that jury instructions will be delivered on Monday, as Merchan has ordered the already empaneled jurors to be present on that date.
Merchan is dealing with other cases today. Jury selection should resume on Thursday.
Note: Sorry for leaving things so abruptly on Tuesday. We had a severe thunderstorm at my location and it interrupted coverage.
Bonus note: Both the prospective juror who said Trump was “fascinating,” and the one who said she admired how Trump was willing to “speak his mind” are in the seven selected so far.