Trump's federal cases will end, but the civil cases will not

The other federal case is in Florida, where Trump was charged with violating federal law in his handling of classified documents. Judge Aileen Cannon declared the appointment of the special counsel unconstitutional, and that decision now rests with the federal appeals court.

Trump's strategy was to delay these federal cases as long as possible, and it worked. Once inaugurated, he has the authority to order the Justice Department to dismiss the charges. It seems wrong to allow a president to shield himself from criminal liability in this way, but there is little doubt that he will have this power when he takes office. In fact, Smith, who is leading these criminal cases, plans to drop the lawsuit down his work knowing that the cases would be dismissed.

The fate of the criminal cases in state courts against Trump is more complicated. A jury in New York convicted Trump of 34 felony counts for authorizing the payment of money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her sexual affair and then falsifying business records to conceal it to benefit his presidential campaign 2016 didn't hurt. Trump does not have the authority to order the dismissal of prosecutors and cannot issue pardons for convictions in state court.

Trump faces possible prison time for these crimes. Each of the 34 convictions carries a possible prison sentence of four years to a maximum of 20 years. But it is inconceivable that the Supreme Court would allow the imprisonment of a sitting president and conviction in a state court to thwart the will of the people in the election. Essentially, the Supreme Court is likely to say that the election of Trump as president eliminates a state's ability to order his detention.

Another case is pending in state court in Georgia against Trump over his alleged attempts to undermine the election results there in 2020. The matter is now before the Georgia Court of Appeals to hear Trump's argument that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified. But regardless of the outcome of that appeal, the unresolved question remains whether a sitting president can be prosecuted. Even if the Georgia courts and Supreme Court allowed prosecution, Trump would likely not face the possibility of incarceration.

Although Trump will likely avoid criminal punishment, his presidency will not protect him from civil liability. Trump was found responsible by a jury for the sexual abuse of the author E. Jean Carroll and her defamation. The damages in these cases amount to over $88 million. Additionally, a New York state court judge found that Trump and his company had repeatedly engaged in deceptive business practices and imposed a $450 million fine. This case was recently appealed.

The law clearly states that a president has no immunity from civil liability for conduct unrelated to actions as president. In Clinton v. Jones in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Bill Clinton could be sued for sexual harassment that allegedly occurred during his time as governor of Arkansas. The court said that even a sitting president could be civilly sued for conduct committed before he took office. Neither the civil lawsuits against E. Jean Carroll nor the economic fraud lawsuit have the slightest connection to Trump's behavior as president.

The essence of the rule of law is that no one, not even a president, should be above the law. But Trump's election means that he will face no potential penalties even for crimes for which he was convicted.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the Berkeley School of Law at the University of California.