On September 18, just 48 days before the election, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in Manhattan to face sentencing on 34 felony charges. Some criminal justice experts believe the ex-president could well end up behind bars.

Newsweek reported that University of California-Berkeley law professor John Yoo, who served in former President George W. Bush’s Justice Department, said Judge Juan Merchan may well impose prison time when sentencing, but he noted that jailing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate could be seen as an overtly political move that could benefit Trump on appeal.

“He could have used his discretion here and moved the date of the verdict, but instead he moved it closer to the start of mail-in voting in my home state of Pennsylvania,” Yoo told Fox News.

READ MORE: JD Vance calls for Judge Merchan and his daughter to be subpoenaed so Republicans can “punish” them

After a jury found the former president guilty on all 34 Class E counts in May, Merchan moved Trump’s sentencing from July to September after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had absolute, broad criminal immunity for official presidential acts. And earlier this month, prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office left it to Merchan to decide whether to delay Trump’s sentencing even further, until after the November election.

Class E felonies carry no prison time in New York, but Merchan has the ability to sentence Trump to up to 20 years in prison. Because Trump is a 78-year-old first-time offender, Syracuse University law professor Greg Germain does not believe Merchan would send the 45th president of the United States to a New York state prison.

“If Merchan were to sentence him to prison for this records violation in the middle of the campaign, I think the courts would do whatever was necessary to prevent that from happening. We would be in uncharted waters,” Germain said. “But I don’t think Merchan will sentence him to prison. I think there were serious problems with the case and the verdict should be overturned on appeal in an appropriate manner without disrupting the election cycle.”

Whether Trump actually wears a prison jumpsuit before or after the election could depend on how Merchan assesses Trump’s respect for the criminal justice system, according to his former defendants. Earlier this year, several people Merchan had sentenced in the past described the lawyer as tough but even-handed, provided the defendants appearing before him respected the process.

READ MORE: Defendants in the Merchan courtroom say the severity of the punishment depends on the degree of “respect”

“Merchan seemed to me to be more lenient if you at least pretended to apologize for the crime you committed,” defendant Andrew Rossig told the Daily Beast. “I don’t remember ever saying to myself, ‘This judge is ridiculous and I’m going to prison for the rest of my life.’ It was more like, ‘Treat him with respect and he’ll be fair.'”

But because Trump has repeatedly violated a gag order issued by Merchan during the trial that was intended to prevent the ex-president from attacking jurors, witnesses, court personnel or their families (including Merchan’s daughter), he could opt for a harsher sentence. Yoo warned that a prison sentence could have political consequences.

“Can you imagine what would happen if Judge Merchan sentenced Donald Trump to prison even though he is a first-time, non-violent offender?” Yoo said. “What if Judge Merchan got even crazier and said Donald Trump shouldn’t even be allowed to stay out of prison while his case is on appeal? He actually has the power to order Donald Trump’s immediate prison sentence, although I suspect he wouldn’t do that.”

“But this judge has used his discretion each time to try to give this process a political direction that will have an impact on the election,” he added.

READ MORE: Donald Trump guilty on all counts in New York criminal trial

Click here to read Newsweek’s full report.