A Washington D.C.-based government watchdog group has asked a federal appeals court to remove Judge Aileen Cannon from the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, arguing she has tried to “undermine and derail the prosecution,” The Hill reported on September 4, 2024 (read story here).
Judge Cannon, after prolonged stalling, dismissed the charges against Trump days before the 2024 Republican convention. Prosecutor Jack Smith appealed the dismissal, but did not request a different judge.
Cannon has been criticized by legal experts as incompetent and partial in favor of Trump, who appointed her to the federal bench. In addition, her reason for dismissal, i.e. that Smith was improperly appointed and lacked authority to prosecute Trump, is contrary to statutes and precedents, and widely expected to be reversed.
When a federal appeals court overrules a trial judge, the case normally goes back to that judge, who’s expected to follow the court’s instructions. It’s rare for a higher court to order a case reassigned, but appellate judges likely would do it, if they thought the trial judge couldn’t manage the case properly or was biased against a party (in this case, the prosecutor).
The Mar-a-Lago case is likely to be the highest-profile case Judge Cannon will ever handle. Being removed from the case would be a black mark on her career, but wouldn’t affect her status as a judge. She can only be removed from the bench by resignation or impeachment. Congress has removed judges for bribery and corruption, but not for bad rulings.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already reversed rulings by Cannon in the case, likely will reverse her dismissal, but they might not take her off the case, although they should, because she has tried to help Trump at every step of the way. They might send it back to her, in effect telling her, “Do it right,” and keep doing that until she falls into line.
But it’s not really their job to train incompetent judges, or straighten out obstinate ones. It’s one thing if she’s a new judge who’s making mistakes, but Cannon’s actions are deliberate, and rather than wage a running battle with her (they have better things to do), they should take the case away from her and assign it to a judge who will handle it properly.