The possibility that Judge Juan Merchan will drop, because of presidential immunity, President Trump’s 34 felony convictions throws into sharp relief the increasingly precarious condition of the state cases — civil and criminal — against the former and future president in the wake of his electoral triumph.

Trump’s win could also set the stage for a new chapter of legal clashes as state judges and prosecutors determine whether to retreat or press on in the face of the 45th president’s turn as the 47th. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, vowed on Wednesday to “use the rule of law to fight back,” and declared: “I am not fearful of Donald Trump.”