Latest news with #11thCircuitCourtofAppeals
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The latest effort to toss Alina Habba draws on an unusual source: Aileen Cannon
A criminal defendant seeking to torpedo President Donald Trump's top federal prosecutor in New Jersey is drawing inspiration from an unusual source: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. The defendant, Julien Giraud Jr., argues that the Trump appointee's bombshell ruling last summer dismissing a federal criminal case against Trump by finding that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional applies equally to Trump's temporary U.S. attorney pick, Alina Habba. Giraud's attorney Thomas Mirigliano says the workaround Trump used to keep Habba in place after a 120-day interim appointment expired directly conflicts with Cannon's ruling. 'As Judge Cannon explained in Trump, when executive officials deliberately engineer an appointment in violation of statutory and constitutional mandates, the only effective remedy is dismissal or, at the very least, disqualification of the unconstitutionally appointed officer and her subordinates,' Mirigliano wrote in a filing Wednesday. Mirigliano's bid is a long shot, meant to spare his client from further prosecution for gun and drug crimes that were brought by a grand jury and filed in 2024 when there was no uncertainty about the leadership of the U.S. attorney's office. But it's one of the first efforts to turn Cannon's ruling against the Trump administration's interests. The case, which is pending before U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, an Obama appointee based in Pennsylvania, challenges Habba's authority to run the office and prosecute criminal cases. Brann is not yet sold that questions around Habba's appointment should derail ongoing prosecutions that have largely been carried out by assistant U.S. attorneys. However, the issue has roiled federal criminal cases in New Jersey while the matter remains unresolved. Cannon last summer concluded in a 93-page ruling that Smith's appointment violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution and, in turn, she dismissed the federal criminal case against Trump charging him with amassing highly sensitive national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago and then obstructing government efforts to reclaim them. Though Smith appealed Cannon's ruling, the case was ultimately dropped after Trump won the 2024 election, so the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals never ruled on the matter. Cannon's ruling itself does not bind any other court, but Brann could consider it as he weighs Giraud's argument. Cannon's ruling doesn't deal directly with the roundabout way Trump maneuvered to keep Habba in her role. But her ruling made broad assertions about limitations on presidential appointment powers. 'It is undisputed, and correct, that all United States Attorneys (93 currently) have been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate throughout our Nation's history, except that Congress has permitted the Attorney General to appoint interim United States Attorneys with specific restrictions,' Cannon ruled. Mirigliano argues that the Trump administration has gone around that system in a way that is irregular and unconstitutional by appointing Habba after a 120-day interim term expired. The Justice Department in a Wednesday night legal filing said the repeated reliance on Cannon was 'misplaced' because Cannon's ruling was focused on the powers of a special counsel. 'Nothing like that occurred here,' the DOJ wrote. 'The office of United States Attorney, and the position of First Assistant U.S. Attorney to which Ms. Habba was lawfully designated, are well established and subject to the plenary authority and control of the Attorney General.' The Justice Department, while arguing Habba was rightfully made acting U.S. attorney, also has a fallback argument that criminal cases shouldn't be tossed even if the court finds Habba's appointment unconstitutional. The department contends Habba can 'do anything the U.S. Attorney can do' because Attorney General Pam Bondi delegated her as a 'special attorney.'
Politico
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The latest effort to toss Alina Habba draws on an unusual source: Aileen Cannon
'As Judge Cannon explained in Trump, when executive officials deliberately engineer an appointment in violation of statutory and constitutional mandates, the only effective remedy is dismissal or, at the very least, disqualification of the unconstitutionally appointed officer and her subordinates,' Mirigliano wrote in a filing Wednesday. Mirigliano's bid is a long shot, meant to spare his client from further prosecution for gun and drug crimes that were brought by a grand jury and filed in 2024 when there was no uncertainty about the leadership of the U.S. attorney's office. But it's one of the first efforts to turn Cannon's ruling against the Trump administration's interests. The case, which is pending before U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, an Obama appointee based in Pennsylvania, challenges Habba's authority to run the office and prosecute criminal cases. Brann is not yet sold that questions around Habba's appointment should derail ongoing prosecutions that have largely been carried out by assistant U.S. attorneys. However, the issue has roiled federal criminal cases in New Jersey while the matter remains unresolved. Cannon last summer concluded in a 93-page ruling that Smith's appointment violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution and, in turn, she dismissed the federal criminal case against Trump charging him with amassing highly sensitive national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago and then obstructing government efforts to reclaim them. Though Smith appealed Cannon's ruling, the case was ultimately dropped after Trump won the 2024 election, so the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals never ruled on the matter. Cannon's ruling itself does not bind any other court, but Brann could consider it as he weighs Giraud's argument. Cannon's ruling doesn't deal directly with the roundabout way Trump maneuvered to keep Habba in her role. But her ruling made broad assertions about limitations on presidential appointment powers. 'It is undisputed, and correct, that all United States Attorneys (93 currently) have been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate throughout our Nation's history, except that Congress has permitted the Attorney General to appoint interim United States Attorneys with specific restrictions,' Cannon ruled.
01-07-2025
Appeals court rules Alabama violated constitutional rights of man sentenced to death
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A federal appeals court ruled Alabama prosecutors violated the constitutional rights of a man sentenced to death in 1990, saying Blacks were rejected from the jury during his trial. The Monday ruling from a three judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals means Michael Sockwell, 62, is eligible for a retrial. He was convicted of killing former Montgomery County Sheriff Isaiah Harris in 1988 when he was 26-years old. The panel issued a 2-1 opinion stating Alabama prosecutors violated Sockwell's 14th Amendment rights by 'repeatedly and purposefully' rejecting potential Black jurors who were believed to be more sympathetic to him on the basis of their shared race. Prosecutors said Harris' wife hired Sockwell to kill Harris because she wanted to cover up an affair she was having and collect Harris' insurance money. There were no witnesses to the shooting. Sockwell, whose attorneys say has a low IQ that disqualifies him from the death penalty, initially told authorities in a videotaped confession that he killed Harris. At his trial, Sockwell testified that officers threatened to beat and kill him before he confessed and deprived him of food and water. Sockwell then testified that another man, who was having an affair with Harris' wife, committed the killing. Sockwell also denied he ever received money to kill Harris. The jury voted 7-5 to sentence Sockwell to life in prison, but the judge overruled the decision and sentenced Sockwell to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury's sentence in capital cases. Attorneys for Sockwell appealed the decision, arguing the prosecutors unconstitutionally used race as the basis for jury selection, rejecting 80% of the Black jurors who were eligible for Sockwell's trial — compared to only 20% white jurors who were disqualified. The appeal cited notes from the prosecutor that rejected one juror who she described as 'a (B)lack male, approximately twenty-three years of age, which would put him very close to the same race, sex, and age of' Sockwell. Judge Robert J. Luck, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented. Luck emphasized that the prosecutor noted the race of white potential jurors too, a fact Luck said indicated race was not a disqualifying factor for jurors in Sockwell's case. The opinion, written by former President Bill Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Wilson, also cited four other cases in the years leading up to Sockwell's case where the state prosecutor appeared to have illegally rejected Black jurors based solely on their race, demonstrating a 'pattern' of choosing juries with 'discriminatory intent.' The Alabama Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday morning. Luck disputed that the prosecutor had a pattern of discrimination and said 17% of the jury in Sockwell's trial was Black out of a jury pool that was 24% Black to begin with. ___
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- The Hindu
Appeals court rules Alabama violated constitutional rights of man sentenced to death
A federal appeals court ruled Alabama prosecutors violated the constitutional rights of a man sentenced to death in 1990, saying Blacks were rejected from the jury during his trial. The Monday ruling from a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals means Michael Sockwell, 62, is eligible for a retrial. He was convicted of killing former Montgomery County Sheriff Isaiah Harris in 1988 when he was 26-years old. The panel issued a 2-1 opinion stating Alabama prosecutors violated Sockwell's 14th Amendment rights by 'repeatedly and purposefully' rejecting potential Black jurors who were believed to be more sympathetic to him on the basis of their shared race. Prosecutors said Harris' wife hired Sockwell to kill Harris because she wanted to cover up an affair she was having and collect Harris' insurance money. There were no witnesses to the shooting. Sockwell, whose attorneys say has a low IQ that disqualifies him from the death penalty, initially told authorities in a videotaped confession that he killed Harris. At his trial, Sockwell testified that officers threatened to beat and kill him before he confessed and deprived him of food and water. Sockwell then testified that another man, who was having an affair with Harris' wife, committed the killing. Sockwell also denied he ever received money to kill Harris. The jury voted 7-5 to sentence Sockwell to life in prison, but the judge overruled the decision and sentenced Sockwell to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury's sentence in capital cases. Attorneys for Sockwell appealed the decision, arguing the prosecutors unconstitutionally used race as the basis for jury selection, rejecting 80% of the Black jurors who were eligible for Sockwell's trial — compared to only 20% white jurors who were disqualified. The appeal cited notes from the prosecutor that rejected one juror who she described as 'a (B)lack male, approximately twenty-three years of age, which would put him very close to the same race, sex, and age of' Sockwell. Judge Robert J. Luck, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented. Luck emphasized that the prosecutor noted the race of white potential jurors too, a fact Luck said indicated race was not a disqualifying factor for jurors in Sockwell's case. The opinion, written by former President Bill Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Wilson, also cited four other cases in the years leading up to Sockwell's case where the state prosecutor appeared to have illegally rejected Black jurors based solely on their race, demonstrating a 'pattern' of choosing juries with 'discriminatory intent.' The Alabama Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday morning. Justice Luck disputed that the prosecutor had a pattern of discrimination and said 17% of the jury in Sockwell's trial was Black out of a jury pool that was 24% Black to begin with.
New York Post
01-07-2025
- New York Post
Appeals court rules Alabama violated constitutional rights of man sentenced to death
A federal appeals court ruled Alabama prosecutors violated the constitutional rights of a man sentenced to death in 1990, saying Blacks were rejected from the jury during his trial. The Monday ruling from a three judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals means Michael Sockwell, 62, is eligible for a retrial. He was convicted of killing former Montgomery County Sheriff Isaiah Harris in 1988 when he was 26-years old. The panel issued a 2-1 opinion stating Alabama prosecutors violated Sockwell's 14th Amendment rights by 'repeatedly and purposefully' rejecting potential Black jurors who were believed to be more sympathetic to him on the basis of their shared race. Advertisement The Monday ruling from a three judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals means Michael Sockwell, 62, is eligible for a retrial. AP Prosecutors said Harris' wife hired Sockwell to kill Harris because she wanted to cover up an affair she was having and collect Harris' insurance money. There were no witnesses to the shooting. Sockwell, whose attorneys say has a low IQ that disqualifies him from the death penalty, initially told authorities in a videotaped confession that he killed Harris. At his trial, Sockwell testified that officers threatened to beat and kill him before he confessed and deprived him of food and water. Sockwell then testified that another man, who was having an affair with Harris' wife, committed the killing. Sockwell also denied he ever received money to kill Harris. Advertisement The jury voted 7-5 to sentence Sockwell to life in prison, but the judge overruled the decision and sentenced Sockwell to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury's sentence in capital cases. Attorneys for Sockwell appealed the decision, arguing the prosecutors unconstitutionally used race as the basis for jury selection, rejecting 80% of the Black jurors who were eligible for Sockwell's trial — compared to only 20% white jurors who were disqualified. The appeal cited notes from the prosecutor that rejected one juror who she described as 'a (B)lack male, approximately twenty-three years of age, which would put him very close to the same race, sex, and age of' Sockwell. Sockwell then testified that another man, who was having an affair with Harris' wife, committed the killing. AP Judge Robert J. Luck, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented. Luck emphasized that the prosecutor noted the race of white potential jurors too, a fact Luck said indicated race was not a disqualifying factor for jurors in Sockwell's case. Advertisement The opinion, written by former President Bill Clinton-appointed Judge Charles Wilson, also cited four other cases in the years leading up to Sockwell's case where the state prosecutor appeared to have illegally rejected Black jurors based solely on their race, demonstrating a 'pattern' of choosing juries with 'discriminatory intent.' The Alabama Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday morning. Luck disputed that the prosecutor had a pattern of discrimination and said 17% of the jury in Sockwell's trial was Black out of a jury pool that was 24% Black to begin with. ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
