Judge Merchan told the parties he would take a few minutes back in chambers before returning at 4:30 ET to bring in the jury and excuse them for the day.

Trump, at the defense table, was actively conferring with attorney Todd Blanche as they waited, with Blanche laughing and covering his mouth as Trump whispered in his ear. Trump flashed a grin.

Defense attorneys Emil Bove and Susan Necheles were also smiling as they chatted.

Members of the prosecution team returned to the courtroom and gathered at the counsel table.

Donald Trump then returned to the courtroom.

Judge Merchan, after entering the courtroom, said, "At this time, I am going to excuse the jury around 4:30."

As the jury continues its deliberations, the courtroom is quiet except for the clacking of reporters' keyboards.

Trump and his attorneys are in a separate waiting area, as are attorneys with the DA's office. That leaves about 60 reporters waiting in the quiet courtroom, where four court officers are enforcing a "no talking" rule.

One court officer sits at a desk by the bell that the jury rings when they want to contact the court. Two court reporters sit in the corner of the room near the witness stand, with their three-foot stack of paper transcripts looming behind them.

On the right side of the gallery, four sketch artists continue to work. It’s unclear what they are drawing.

During this morning's testimony readbacks, the courtroom heard the voice of the jury foreman, who told Judge Merchan the jury wanted to hear "instructions first," then later replied in the affirmative when Merchan asked if the jury's requests had been satisfied.

The person selected to be the foreman on Trump's jury -- chosen by default due to being selected as Juror No. 1 -- is a male New Yorker who has worked in sales for nearly three decades. Originally from Ireland, he previously worked as a waiter.

The foreman is also one of just two known immigrants in the group -- the other being from Lebanon.

Regarding his education, Juror No. 1 said during the jury selection process that he attended "some college." The jury as a whole includes seven members with advanced degrees, plus another juror who also said they attended "some college."

Juror No. 1 said he had never served on a jury before, and that he gets his news from The New York Times, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Asked during voir dire by prosecutors if he would have a problem with the concept of "accessorial liability" -- that is, holding Trump responsible for something his partners did -- Juror No. 1 said he wouldn't.

"None at all," he replied.

Later, he was asked by Trump's attorney Todd Blanche for his "positive or negative" opinion of the fact that there are charges against Trump.

"I don't have an opinion at all," he said.

As ABC News reported previously, the U.S. Secret Service spent considerable time working with New York City court and jail officials to determine what would happen if the judge, as threatened during trial, ordered former President Trump to be incarcerated for contempt -- a situation that did not come to pass.

According to an official briefed on the matter, U.S. Secret Service planners have not started the process of determining arrangements for Trump to be imprisoned at a New York state penitentiary in the event he is convicted. Because Trump is charged with nonviolent crimes, has no criminal record, and was allowed to remain free before trial, it is believed that there is no way that a conviction would lead to immediate incarceration.

If Trump is convicted, the Secret Service will spend the time prior to sentencing -- which could be months -- working with New York state prison officials to determine how imprisonment would work. An official told ABC News that potential questions could include, would USSS agents be armed inside prisons where firearms are prohibited? What prison would Trump be assigned to? Where would protection agents be stationed in relation to Trump? Those details, among many others, would have to be hammered out, the official said.

The Secret Service specifically avoided planning on a possible prison sentence during the trial so Trump and his loyalists could not accuse them of taking sides against the former president, the official said.

-Josh Margolin