The case against Temer has been long in the making. Brazilian authorities began investigating Rousseff and Temer, her running mate, just after she won the presidential election in October 2014; according to the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), which was then in the opposition, the two took donations from companies that had obtained the money through illicit means. The judge presiding over the case, which is intertwined with a sweeping corruption probe into state-owned energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras), finished collecting evidence and testimony from those companies' executives on March 27.

According to a report published by Brazilian newspaper Estadao a few days later, the electoral public prosecutor has asked the court to rule against Rousseff and Temer. Should it do so, Temer will have no choice but to resign and Rousseff, who was impeached last year for manipulating the national budget, may lose her right to run for public office for the next eight years. Congress would then have 30 days to elect a new president while the leader of the Chamber of Deputies fills the post in the interim.

Temer, however, has argued that the court should evaluate donations made to Rousseff separately from his own — a strategy the PSDB, which is part of his ruling coalition, has supported. Since Rousseff's impeachment in May 2016, the party has become one of Temer's biggest allies in Congress, and it does not want to see him booted from office. Supreme Electoral Court President Gilmar Mendes has said it may be possible to consider the two cases independently, but several of the judges participating in the trial already have pushed back against the idea.

This could prove problematic for the embattled president, who will need four of the court's seven judges to rule in his favor to avoid being found guilty. Mendes, a longtime friend of Temer, has already signaled that he would likely support the president during the trial. (In fact, the two men have recently held several private meetings that elicited criticism from the Brazilian press.) The leanings of the six remaining judges, however, are less clear.

But time may be on Temer's side, even if the electoral judges are not. The president has several ways to draw out the court battle — and delay any consequences it may have for his position. Temer is counting on the fact that at least one of the judges will likely ask for more time to evaluate the evidence and testimony in the case against him; according to O Globo, Judge Napoleao Nunes Maia Filho is already considering doing just that. A final ruling, moreover, probably will not come until the second half of the year. And if he loses, Temer would doubtless appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

The lengthy process will give Temer room to stock the electoral court with more of his allies. The terms of two of its current judges, Henrique Neves and Luciana Lossio, will expire on April 16 and May 5, respectively. If the court does not reach its decision before then, Temer will have the opportunity to replace them with Tarcisio Vieira and Admar Gonzaga — both of whom are seen as friends of the president and are likely to back him. (Gonzaga, for instance, worked on Rousseff and Temer's first presidential campaign in 2010.) With their support, Temer would be only one vote shy of securing the majority in favor of his innocence. And many believe he could find the vote with the court's vice president, Luiz Fux, who appears reluctant to create more political instability in Brazil by removing the president from office.

Of course, there is a chance that, under pressure from the public and the media, the electoral court will work to reach a decision quickly. Later in April, the judge tasked with handling the country's broader corruption investigation into the Petrobras scandal may release the secret testimony of executives at contracting company Odebrecht, who gave bribes and illegal donations to hundreds of Brazilian lawmakers and nine Cabinet ministers — including Temer's chief of staff, Eliseu Padilha. Though this case is technically separate from the investigation into Temer, much of the testimony presented in it is being used against the president as well. Should it be made public, the judges presiding over Temer's case may be swayed by popular reaction. After all, authorities investigating the Petrobras scandal have already leaked evidence to keep that probe alive and ensure that high-ranking officials are held accountable, and rallies on March 26 in support of the corruption probe brought thousands of demonstrators to the streets in 63 Brazilian cities.

When all is said and done, Temer's trial probably will not be resolved soon, particularly if he chooses to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, it — along with further revelations of wrongdoing within the highest ranks of government — has added to the deep political uncertainty clouding Brazil's future.