The federal judge overseeing the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump on charges of illegally withholding dozens of classified documents on Friday set a trial date for May 2024, taking a midway position between the administration’s request to appear in court in December and Mr. Trump’s desire to delay proceedings until after the 2024 election.
In her order, Judge Aileen M. Cannon said the trial would be held at her own courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla., a coastal city two and a half hours north of Miami that will draw its jury pool from several counties Mr. Trump handily won in his two previous presidential campaigns.
Judge Cannon has also set a calendar of hearings for the remainder of this year and next year, including those to deal with the classified material at the heart of the case.
The scheduling order came after a controversial hearing on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, where prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith and lawyers for Mr. Trump squabbled over when to hold the trial.
The timing of proceedings is more important in this case than in most criminal cases because Mr. Trump is now the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination and his legal obligations to appear in court will intersect with his campaign schedule.
Indeed, the date Judge Cannon chose to start the trial – May 20, 2024 – is a day before the primaries in the main swing state of Georgia. But it falls after the bulk of the primary racing matches have already taken place.
