By Brendan Clementz

With the presidential election gaining in intensity as November draws near, worries arose among the court assigned to sentence candidate Donald Trump. To ensure impartiality, Judge Juan Merchan made the decision to postpone the sentencing until November 26, three weeks after the end of the election. 

The sentencing date was originally scheduled for September 18, but as a show of good faith, the judge accepted a request by Trump to delay the sentencing day, which the prosecutors of the case deferred to. “This is not a decision this Court makes lightly but it is the decision which, in this Court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” Judge Merchan said in a statement justifying the decision. 

Some experts in the law agree that it is a sensible decision for the judge to make, who has been beleaguered by both Trump and his colleagues as well as their followers since the beginning of the court case. However, they note that it does not have any actual legal reason behind it.

The 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money that Trump has been convicted of could land him in up to four years of prison, but it’s more likely that he will be given probation or community service instead.