cnn's kara scannell joins us from outside the courthouse. what are we expecting? >> reporter: when the hearing gets under way in about a half hour, we're expecting him to show up for the first time since conviction in august. the judge denied his request to wear a sued and tie. he this judge likes to move thing along so we might learn from additional --, has been in with them at least nine times in the past four weeks. we may learn more about that today. the other issue on the table is what happens to the ten counts that the jury hung on, and the judge is pressing the prosecutors to decide to drop those charges or say they might retry manafort. prosecutors have initially wanted to leave that on the table so they could use that as leverages over manafort. they acquiesced to the judge, saying they would be okay dropping that as long athey are able to -- the judge is expected to take it up about 1:30, and then we should learn the sentencing date which could be by the end of the year. >> thank you very much, kara. we'll touch base once you get more information. kara s