In considering these arguments, we are faced with a choice: apply our usual test; drastically expand the availability of equitable jurisdiction for every subject of a search warrant; or carve out an unprecedented exception in our law for former presidents. We choose the first option. So the case must be dismissed.
FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
That was amazing.
Oh man, this is great news. Score one for the legal system!
So, serious question. I’ve seen a bunch of folks reveling in how scathing the ruling was, saying stuff like Cannon will never recover from this. This is so devastating to Trump. Not being a legal specialist myself, I have to ask the question: how does this matter?
To be clear, I understand this cooks Trump’s defense, and this is a very good thing. But it’s not entirely unexpected, either. As a matter of law I understand it was fairly straightforward. So I have to ask, is there any real consequence to phrasing it in such scathing terms, rather than matter-of-factly putting it to bed? Cannon has a lifetime appointment; I cannot see that she’ll suffer any consequences. Should the case go to SCOTUS, it will be heard by several other Federalist hacks who seem like as not to side with Cannon.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel the smackdown was merited and I do take some pleasure in it. Not being in the legal field, I just wonder if there’s any practical reason to celebrate the very pointed nature of this ruling, or to expect that Cannon will pay any sort of price for what’s now confirmed to be an act of pure partisan hackery.
It’s a small club, and she has been called out for her mistake. That’s got to be embarrassing for a new judge. She might be less willing to stick her neck out in the future. She might have a smaller chance of advancing to a higher court. Her opinions might be given less deference in future appeals if she has a bad reputation. However, you’re right. Day to day, it doesn’t matter. She has a lifetime appointment and a whole lot of power.
This opinion is crafted in a way that it leaves very little room for overturning it. The Supreme Court has to be willing to make some very bad law to help Trump, and so far has expressed no willingness to do so.
Not if Individual 1 gets re-elected.
This is a good point, and it does help satisfy my craving for retribution. It cheers me to think of her stuck in a lifetime job with no possibility of promotion, with her reputation ruined and no real room for advancement.
Of course this type of person does seem to have a way of parlaying such antics into a Fox News contributor spot (see “Judge” Jeanine for example). “They tried to destroy me but they FAILED!!!#@#!!”
Judge Aileen Cancelled
You got a great answer from @Procrustus, who is a lawyer, and I am not.
But as someone who worked closely with judges daily as they conducted their courtroom business, I will add only this: Judges hate being publicly excoriated by higher courts. Hate it. It subjects them to forever criticism by their peers, both in law and in their personal social circles.
Judges bend over backwards to “appeal-proof” their rulings for exactly this reason. She’ll stay on the bench, but she is forever tainted.
True, depending on who controls the Senate. This decision was made by three Republican appointed judges (two by Trump). That tells you something about the quality of Cannon’s opinion. No one wants to be perceived as tainted or a lightweight. Most federal judges (for all their faults) are not legal lightweights. They are snobby too. Cannon has lost their respect, if she ever had it.
Yes and no. Forever is a long time. There’s always the chance that she’ll grow into the job and learn from her mistakes. Twenty years from now, perhaps she’ll be remembered for something better.
For another judge, I might be hopeful. Not this one. Her rulings, even after she was smacked down by the Eleventh the first time, persisted in being nakedly partisan and frankly, entirely ignorant of the applicable law.
I don’t know that much about her (Former prosecutor?) so you may be right. If she’s nothing more than MAGA with a law degree, she’ll quickly grow tired of the work involved in the job and move on to something less demanding and more lucrative.
Member of the Federalist Society since 2005. Say no more.
I’m sure the judges who overturned her were members of the Federalist Society. Usually, Federalist Society judges are smarter than this.
In recent years, this designation appears to denote a much more radicalized agenda than it once did.
The first smack down by the Eleventh was unmistakable. Her response was to double down.
My question is why would Mitch McConnell recommend a MAGA nutjob be a judge. Surely her name came from Mitch, right? My understanding is that all the judges Trump appointed were Mitch selections. I would expect the evil turtle to appoint staunch conservatives of substance; the kind of people who quietly hate Trump.
Not quite the swagger of “anomalous jurisdiction”… but dang, that was quite the document.
No – while Mitch certainly selected or deeply vetted all the appellate judges, district court judges are traditionally named by the senior Senator of the President’s party from the relevant state. Cannon was apparently a Rubio recommendation.
As someone who has spent all but 1 year of his career in federal litigation, that is one finely written decision. Per curiam. Published. Precedential. By a panel made up of 1 W nominee and 2 of Trump’s own. Sweet!
Don’t cry for loose Cannon. She’s got a fine gig. Even if she never gets promoted (and the majority of DCt judges don’t), she’ll be eligible for 100% of her salary as a pension after 19 more years. (That’s from memory. Please correct me if I’m wrong.) Even if she retires early, retired judges - especially feds - rake in BIG bucks as mediators, arbitrators, and the like. IMO probably one of the sweetest gigs available. And there is always the possibility of getting a job with some conservative think tank, association, or law firm.
And judges get overturned all the time. Goes with the territory. Won’t have any bearing on her continuing to do her current job as long as she wants.
Just so nice to see a court just clearly rejecting Trump’s BS. There is a tendency for a snowball effect. Other DCt judges in other states - who might not be quite the hacks as loose Cannon - will think twice before kissing TFG’s ring. And if THIS panel saw ZERO merit in TFG’s BS, well, good luck in finding a more sympathetic circuit/panel!
Thanks much, learned my something new for the day.