Donald Trump will become the first former United States President to stand trial on criminal charges as he enters a courthouse in New York on Monday.
Prosecutors accuse him of falsifying his business records to conceal a hush-money payment made to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star, just before the 2016 election.
Trump – who has pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum of four years in jail if convicted, but could also avoid jail time and pay a fine.
The trial which is expected to last between six to eight weeks will essentially focus on a particular transaction Mr Trump had with his former aide, Michael Cohen.
Cohen alleges he was directed to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 to obtain her silence over an alleged affair with Mr Trump. Prosecutors believe it was an attempt to unlawfully influence the 2016 election.
In the US, there is nothing wrong with payments of this nature. However, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office says it was a criminal offence for Mr Trump to record the reimbursement to Cohen as a legal expense.
The embattled former president faces a total of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in the first degree and to reach a verdict, there must be a blanket consensus by the 12 jurors on a specific charge to decide if the defendant is guilty or not.
Being the presumptive Republican nominee in the forthcoming presidential elections, Mr Trump had sought to stall the jury trial and move it from Manhattan, which is predominantly Democratic.
This trial is just one of four Donald Trump faces this year, but it could be the only one to happen before the November presidential polls.
Being a first-time offender, experts say it is unlikely Trump serves time even if convicted, however, it would be the first time a felon will run for office on the platform of a major party.