As lawyers in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump prepare to deliver their summations today, and the jury makes ready to begin deliberating as soon as the middle of the week, speculation runs high as to whether proceedings will end in an acquittal, a guilty verdict, or a hung jury.

If President Trump is convicted, evidentiary concerns and Justice Juan Merchan's conduct are likely to raise substantive issues for the defense to pursue at the appellate level, according to one legal expert.

But other judicial experts disagree, saying it is premature to try to assess the trial's fairness.

The Epoch Times' Catherine Yang, lays out everything you need to know to catch up with the case.

What Are the Charges?

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, a class E felony.

The former president was charged under the statute New York Business Law 175.10, which states that "A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof."

The second crime in this case was the alleged violation of New York Election Law 17-152: "Conspiracy to promote or prevent election. Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."