Black Twitter is having a field day with Donald Trump’s guilty verdict and the likelihood of the former President filing an appeal that gets overseen by New York’s all-Black appellate bench.
Trump made history on Thursday, May 30, when he became the first former President to be convicted of felony crimes. A New York jury found the 45th commander-in-chief guilty of all 34 charges related to a scheme to falsify records to cover up the hush money he paid to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
On Friday, Trump declared his plans to appeal the landmark verdict on several grounds, the New York Times reports. Amid news of the verdict and Trump’s move to appeal, Black Twitter dug up a photo of the all-Black appellate bench Presiding Justice Dianne T. Renwick put together in February for Black History Month.
Social media is convinced that the historic all-African-American bench that only heard arguments on February 14 will be reorganized to oversee Trump’s appeal. Shortly after a photo of the all-Black Appellate Division, First Department surfaced online, many started to sound off.
“Black Jesus and the Exonerated 5 are very happy indeed!!” one person wrote.
“Look at Gawd,” added someone else.
Despite the celebratory response from non-Trump supporters, the likelihood of the one-time all-Black Appellate Division, First Department overseeing Trump’s appeal is very small.
The bench, comprised of Presiding Justice Dianne T. Renwick, Justice Troy K. Webber, Justice Tanya R. Kennedy, Justice Bahaati Pitt-Burke, and Justice Marsha D. Michael, was only put in place on February 14 in honor of Black History Month.
The current Appellate Division, First Department, is comprised of a diverse group of men and women, with only one member being Black. However, even the possibility of an all-Black women’s appeals court presiding over a Trump appeal adds to his critics’ happiness with his guilty verdict.