Following former President Donald Trump’s arraignment in New York on 34 felony charges, his lawyers have commenced work on his defense. According to some experts, these legal battles could cost him gravely and will have serious implications for his political future.

Legal luminaries warn that it could take years for Trump’s criminal case to work its way through the court system, and the prospect of a series of hard-hitting motions and delay tactics may well push the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.

“I cannot imagine that Trump would be convicted, and sent to jail before the 2024 election season is over,” says Richard Hasen, an election law professor at UCLA.

Start of Trump’s Legal troubles?

The unprecedented nature of a former President facing criminal charges carries a wide net of unknowns, but if one thing is clear from Trump’s extensive court record, it’s that he will likely seek to delay and prolong the proceedings as long as possible. In dozens of legal matters going back decades, Trump’s legal team has filed an exhaustive list of motions and appeals designed to stretch the clock.

All of the pre-trial motions could take months to resolve, raising the prospect that Trump will spend most—if not all—of his campaign season embroiled in legal wrangling, with a trial still ahead of him. And the start of his legal troubles.

“This case could easily go beyond the 2024 election given all the complexities,” Wehle says. “Trump’s lawyers don’t have a problem filing frivolous motions, but there are a lot of legitimate, good-faith arguments to make on Trump’s behalf, without even seeing the indictment.”

For Trump, every single delay he can muster out of the judicial system helps. He knows that if the trial is scheduled for after Nov. 5, 2024, and he wins the presidential election, the case wouldn’t keep him from returning to the White House. Some legal experts believe Trump will reach for every possible opportunity to delay the proceedings, making a pre-election criminal trial nearly impossible.

Fundraising Tool

A longer trial that runs well into the 2024 presidential campaign could also benefit Trump as a fundraising tool, capturing the outrage that has circulated within his base who believe the former president is being politically persecuted. Trump facing elections with legal troubles? What will happen?

However, while Donald Trump launches verbal attacks against the prosecutor and judge overseeing his criminal charges in connection with hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, an attorney for the former US president has said his main focus is on legal maneuvers aiming to get the case dismissed long before a trial jury is ever seated.