Opinion: Trump Needs to Serve Time or the Justice System Is Screwed

On July 11, four days before he accepts the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump will be in a New York City courtroom to learn his sentence for the 34 felony offenses for which he was found guilty last month.

Justice Juan Merchan, who has presided over the case and has been the target of Trump's near-constant attacks, will face a historic choice: to sentence the former president to jail time or a lesser punishment, like probation or community service. Merchan should choose the former.

The reason is simple: Trump’s behavior before, during, and after the trial has not only undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system, it risks creating a clear double standard in how criminal defendants are treated.

Read more at The Daily Beast.