Georgia case against Trump presents problems from the start, from jury selection to a big courtroom

Putting 19 people on trial at the same time is a difficult assignment for any prosecutor — whether or not one of those defendants is a former president of the United States running to reclaim his old office.

The sprawling racketeering indictment returned this week by a grand jury in Atlanta presents a wide range of challenges. A big one is political: Finding jurors who don’t have unshakeable opinions about Donald Trump and others in his orbit.

Beyond that, with so many defendants, prosecutors and defense lawyers will labor to keep the names and conflicting stories straight for those jurors over weeks or months. There will be countless legal details and basic logistics to argue or work out — even down to finding a courtroom big enough to fit everyone.

In an early example of the lengthy litigation ahead, lawyers for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows filed a quick motion Tuesday to transfer the case from state to federal court. They said all the actions he took were in service to his White House role, foreshadowing an argument that the Constitution makes him immune from prosecution.

Trump himself tried a similar tack in New York — to move to federal court a state case charging him with falsifying business records. That bid was denied.