Legal Analysts Say Judge Likely Will Postpone Trump Trial

by

The federal judge will likely push back the date due to multiple reasons, analysts have said.

Several legal experts wrote that the federal judge in former President Donald Trump’s election-related case likely will postpone his trial, which is currently scheduled for March, after several recent orders.

Earlier in January, Judge Tanya Chutkan appeared to suggest that his trial date might be pushed back in an order that denied Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing he case, to file any new major motions to push the case forward. It’s because the former president, she wrote, is currently appealing his case on grounds that he has presidential immunity and paused the case in December.

Weeks later, the federal judge, who is based in Washington, scheduled the trial date for an alleged  Jan. 6, 2021, defendant to begin on April 2, which is just over three weeks from when President Trump’s trial is scheduled to begin, while prosecutors have said the trial likely will last at least four weeks.

It’s not clear when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will render a decision on President Trump’s claims on presidential immunity. A three-judge panel on the circuit held a court hearing to hear arguments in the case.

Analysts Are Doubtful

Lawyer and legal analyst Lisa Rubin wrote that Judge Chutkan might delay President Trump’s trial due to the scheduled April 2 trial date for the Jan. 6 defendant.

“This is the second time in a week that Chutkan has dropped breadcrumbs about the expected timing of Trump’s federal election interference case,” Ms. Rubin wrote on X late last week. “But in the end, the biggest factor in her timing is the resolution of an appeal not within her control.”
With that new trial scheduling, a former federal prosecutor, Joyce Vance, wrote on her Substack page that for the case, the “clock continues to tick, making it all but impossible for Judge Chutkan’s March 5 trial date in the Special Counsel’s January 6 prosecution to hold up.”

Related Stories

Trump Secured Support From Three Key Voter Demographics in New Hampshire: Tim Scott
Ex-IRS Contractor Who Leaked Trump’s Tax Returns Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
Another former prosecutor, Jordan Rubin, wrote that“ some observers are eager for a ruling as soon as possible to avoid further delay of Trump’s federal election interference trial,” but the “judges’ greatest concern” is not “whether the opinion takes weeks instead of days.”

“There’s also the possibility that even if all three judges on the (appeals court) panel conclude that Trump isn’t immune, they might have different rationales and may think that certain issues deserve more analysis than others,” he added. “If they can’t incorporate those views into a single opinion, then a judge who agrees on the bottom line but for different reasons might write a concurring opinion that explains their separate views.”

“It’s possible that after a judge initially indicated they wanted to take a separate view, the panel is taking time to synthesize any disagreement into a single, coherent opinion,” he also wrote.

Speaking to Newsweek this month,  Neama Rahmani, the head of West Coast Trial Lawyers and also a former federal prosecutor, stated that the trial date for March 4 is highly unlikely. As the appeals process plays out, she added, there is a chance that President Trump’s Jan. 6 trial won’t happen before the November 2024 election.

“That process will take months, and unless Judge Chutkan lifts the stay, there is a possibility that Trump’s trial does not happen before the November election. The other trial scheduled in April is a reflection of that reality,” she told Newsweek.
(Left:) Special counsel Jack Smith. (Center:) U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. (Right:) Former President Donald Trump. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(Left:) Special counsel Jack Smith. (Center:) U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. (Right:) Former President Donald Trump. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Other Details

Earlier this month, the judge had clarified that the March 4 trial date, which was set in August 2023, was designed to give both President Trump’s team and the special counsel’s prosecutors more time to prepare in the case.

Ultimately, her court adopted President Trump’s lawyers’ recommendation to prevent the parties from filing “any further substantive pretrial motions without first seeking leave from the court,” which means the case cannot proceed. The defendant also “forfeits no arguments or rights by choosing not to respond at this time,” she wrote.

“Diligent defense counsel will need to conduct a preliminary review of each substantive motion the government files in order to know whether they need to take further action,” wrote Judge Chutkan, an Obama appointed, this month. “While that is not a major burden, it is a cognizable one.”

In court orders, Judge Chutkan has not specifically stated that she would postpone the trial. However, if the case is returned back to her jurisdiction, she will consider whether to adjust the scheduling dates accordingly, including the currently set trial date for March 4, she has written

Meanwhile, a case that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court may dissolve two of four of President Trump’s charges. A Jan. 6 defendant who was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding in connection to to the incident appealed his charges, while President Trump was charged with two counts under that obstruction statute.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

Running For Office? Conservative Campaign Consulting – Election Day Strategies!