Former President Trump was recently convicted in a New York court for fraudulent business practices. He was fined more than 350 million dollars and forbidden from doing business in that state for the next thee years. In cases such as this an injured party can receive damages up to three times their loss, but who was the injured party? No one could claim loss. Indeed, everyone appeared to profit from their dealings with theTrump organization and were eager for more such deals. Why the 350 million dollar fine? The Trump decision was unprecedented, and it was the obvious result of the New York Attorney General’s determination to destroy Trump, a purpose she had expressed when she ran for office.

The decision will be appealed through the New York courts, but in the meantime it will inflict substantial monetary costs on Trump and interfere with his 2024 Presidential campaign.

The 14th Amendment reads as follows:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

It is obvious that New York is denying Trump due process and equal protection. The prosecution of the former President is a unique and unprecedented application of New York’s law, and it appears to me that it would allow Trump’s lawyers a direct appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.