Looking at Judge Aileen Cannon

Just exactly how did she earn her Lifetime Federal Judgeship?

To begin with, I’m going to give excerpts from a recent article in “The New York Times” newspaper. We’ll have discussion on the other side.

“Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election. She had not previously served as any kind of judge, and because about 98 percent of federal criminal cases are resolved with plea deals, she has had only a limited opportunity to learn how to preside over a trial.”

“Judge Cannon’s suitability to handle such a high-stakes and high-profile case has already attracted scrutiny amid widespread perceptions that she demonstrated bias in the former president’s favor last year, when she oversaw a long-shot lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump challenging the F.B.I.’s court-approved search of his Florida home and club, Mar-a-Lago.”

“”She’s both an inexperienced judge and a judge who has previously indicated that she thinks the former president is subject to special rules so who knows what she will do with those issues?” said Julie O’Sullivan, a Georgetown University criminal law professor and former federal prosecutor.

In theory, Judge Cannon could step aside on her own for any reason, or the special counsel, Jack Smith, could ask her to do so under a federal law that says judges are supposed to recuse themselves if their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned” — and, if she declines, ask an appeals court to order her to recuse.

There is no sign that either of them is considering taking that step, however — or what its legal basis would be.”

“Several lawyers who have appeared before Judge Cannon in run-of-the-mill criminal cases described her in interviews as generally competent and straightforward — and also, in notable contrast to her rulings hobbling the Justice Department after the search, someone who does not otherwise have a reputation of being unusually sympathetic to defendants.

At the same time, they said, she is demonstrably inexperienced and can bristle when her actions are questioned or unexpected issues arise. The lawyers declined to speak publicly because they did not want to be identified criticizing a judge who has a lifetime appointment and before whom they will likely appear again.

Judge Cannon’s four criminal trials identified in the review involved basic charges, including accusations of possession of a gun by a felon, assaulting a prosecutor, smuggling undocumented migrants from the Bahamas, and tax fraud. The four matters generated between two and five days of trial each.

The Trump case is likely to raise myriad complexities that would be challenging for any judge — let alone one who will be essentially learning on the job.

There are expected to be fights, for example, over how classified information can be used as evidence under the Classified Information Procedures Act, a national security law that Judge Cannon has apparently never dealt with before.

Defense lawyers are also likely to ask her to suppress as evidence against Mr. Trump notes and testimony from one of his lawyers. While another federal judge already ruled that a grand jury could get otherwise confidential lawyer communications under the so-called crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege, Judge Cannon will not be bound by that decision in determining what can be used in trial.

The judge will likely have to vet claims of prosecutorial misconduct put forward by Mr. Trump and his defense team.

“That has already been signaled in a lot of the media statements made by Trump and his lawyers,” Samuel Buell, a Duke University law professor and former federal prosecutor, said of the misconduct claims. “This is very typical, but she is a very inexperienced judge, so even if she weren’t favorable to Trump, she might hear a lot of stuff and think she is hearing stuff that is unusual even though it’s made all the time.”

And the judge will decide on challenges to potential jurors when either side claims someone might be biased for or against one of the most famous and polarizing people in the world.

Fritz Scheller, a longtime defense lawyer in Florida who has had cases in Judge Cannon’s district but not appeared before her, said in complex and high-profile cases, even the most experienced judges are forced to think on their feet to make swift decisions.

In this case, he said, the issue of how to protect the jury from being influenced by the vast media coverage alone “will be a herculean task” for any judge.”

Here’s the link to the article. It’s interesting reading, but I do want to give you a bit of caution. You may have to subscribe to read it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/us/politics/aileen-cannon-judge-trump-documents.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Now, let’s discuss this woman.

First. Judge Cannon has only sat for 4, count them on one hand, 4 trials in her ENTIRE career as a judge. I have more time in a courtroom she does, and I was only a law enforcement officer!

I’m trying to understand just exactly what system was used to select the judge that would preside over this trial. This, the trial of the century, or better yet, the most important trial in the history of the United States.

Second, Judge Cannon and Trump have a history together. She ruled on the search warrants the FBI, and the DOJ needed to search Mar-a-Lago, and, she ruled against them. But, her rulings were overturned by the Trump appointed Appellate Court, and the search was on!

Judge Cannon was appointed by President Trump. One of the over 250 he appointed nationwide while he was president. This isn’t including how he stacked the Supreme Court with his like minded judges. This case, no doubt, will end up before the Supreme Court before the final judgment is completed. That’s almost a forgone conclusion.

Now, I’m going to do something a bit different. I want to know your thoughts on this situation, this case, and what you feel the outcome will be.