here's laura jarret. >> reporter: the case that first made donald trump a criminal defendant now the first to go to trial. a judge in manhattan rejecting from mr. trump's bid to toss the case out, saying the trial will begin on march 25th. sitting in court by choice, the republican frontrunner will soon be required to show up the judge saying he expects the trial to last six weeks. a distraction mr. trump argues is aimed at trying to derail his presidential campaign. >> it's a very unfair situation. they want to keep me nice and busy so i can't campaign so hard >> reporter: the judge unpersuaded. but mr. trump's defense team arguing they cannot adequately prepare for the trial in new york with all his other criminal case still on the horizon, including a florida trial over classified documents in may and his election interference case in washington still unscheduled. the crux of the case in manhattan, accusations of hush money paid to a porn star, falsely documented, prosecutors say, as a legal expense on the books of the trump organization to hide it >> we allege falsification of bu