On Thursday, July 18, 2024, CNN reported that if the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump were to be reinstated, it would be very difficult to remove the presiding judge Aileen Cannon from overseeing the case.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee based in Fort Pierce, Florida, had recently dismissed the indictment against Trump in a controversial 93-page ruling. Special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by the Department of Justice to investigate Trump’s handling of classified materials, is expected to appeal this decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, CNN spoke to several legal experts familiar with the 11th Circuit, who believed the appeals court would be unlikely to grant a request to reassign the case to a new judge.
The appeals court could potentially order a reassignment if there was evidence of misconduct or bias on the part of the trial judge. However, experts said Judge Cannon’s rulings against the prosecution, while widely criticized, did not necessarily constitute grounds for removal. Cannon had carefully avoided issues that might be seen as overreaching and had provided thorough legal rationales for her opinions. Furthermore, her dismissal aligned with arguments recently put forth by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
As the justice overseeing emergency matters from the 11th Circuit, Thomas’ concurrence on a related issue gave Cannon additional credibility within the appellate court. Legal analysts cautioned that while Cannon’s handling of the pretrial process had been controversial and drawn out, it did not meet the high bar of judicial misconduct required for a reassignment by the appeals court.
Precedents of reassignment in the 11th Circuit involved evidence of bias, refusal to comply with appellate instructions, or inability to impartially hear a case. Cannon’s dismissal, even if deemed erroneous, would not alone warrant her removal. The appeals process could potentially overturn her ruling and reinstate the charges without disturbing the presiding judge. Thus, if the case progressed again, it would still be under Cannon’s supervision despite concerns about her sympathetic treatment of Trump’s defenses so far.
With little direct precedent to guide them, the 11th Circuit’s decision on any request for reassignment, as well as their overall ruling on Judge Cannon’s dismissal, will be closely watched. Either way, Special Counsel Smith faces challenging prospects in his efforts to hold Trump accountable through the court system.
Source: CNN
