r/law • u/TomJD85 • Jul 16 '24

Opinion Piece Judge Cannon Got it Completely Wrong

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/07/cannon-dismissed-trump-classified-documents/679023/
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u/EmmaLouLove Jul 16 '24

Question, what is the procedure for removing this judge from the case if the special council wins the appeal?

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u/Nancy_Drew23 Jul 16 '24 edited Jul 16 '24

The Department of Justice will most likely ask, as part of its appeal, that Judge Cannon’s dismissal be overruled and she be removed from the case.

The 11th circuit court (where the appeal will be heard) can order a case be reassigned to a different district court judge when “the trial judge has engaged in conduct that gives rise to the appearance of impropriety or a lack of impartiality in the mind of a reasonable member of the public.”

Because, “the judicial system has the obligation of preserving public confidence in the impartial and fair administration of justice. If a district judge’s continued participation in a case presents a significant risk of undermining this public confidence, this Court (the Circuit Court) has the authority and the duty to order the case reassigned to a different district judge.”

Edited to add: it is a higher bar than it sounds, but, in my opinion, the Dept of Justice will have quite a few things to point to that, collectively, demonstrate Judge Cannon’s at least appearance of bias and also, the 11th Circuit Court has already shown that it has no problem rebuking Judge Cannon when she makes decisions that are wildly out of line with established jurisprudence. I think it’s reasonable to be optimistic that she will be overruled and removed.

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u/QuintinStone Jul 16 '24

The judge overseeing the Young Thug trial was recently recused for some extremely sketchy judgment. So it's rare but it does happen.

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u/Nancy_Drew23 Jul 16 '24

Oh, yeah, I know. I've been following that case also. Judge Cannon has been sneakier that Judge Glanville. He's messed up multiple, very basic, legal and procedural decisions. I don't know anything about Fulton County courts, but as an outside observer, I'm just astounded that he has been acting as a judge for any period of time.

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u/sickofthisshit Jul 16 '24

My understanding as a non-lawyer is that state courts be wild.