As former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York comes closer to its expected conclusion, his defense team has resorted to asking for a “directed verdict” in the trial, which one legal expert likened to a “hail Mary pass.” According to the Daily Beast, Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Arthur Engoron for a “directed verdict” for dismissal last week, marking the third such attempt in the trial so far. Law.com describes a directed verdict as a judge directing a jury to assign a specific verdict “because one of the parties has not proved his/her/its case as a matter of law (failed to pr…