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A judge's suspension of Donald Trump's election fraud trial is putting pressure on the Supreme Court to reach a rapid decision on whether Trump has presidential immunity, a legal expert has said.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, was reacting to Judge Tanya Chutkan's announcement on Wednesday that she is suspending Trump's trial until the Supreme Court reaches a decision on Trump's presidential immunity.
Her decision may delay his trial. A Washington D.C. jury is scheduled to be chosen in February and the trial is due to begin on March 4.
Chutkan filed an order on Wednesday stating she does not at the moment have jurisdiction over the case.
All pending deadlines and court dates in the case will be put on pause, but not vacated.
"As the D.C. Circuit recently made clear, a former President's absolute immunity would constitute 'an entitlement not to stand trial or face the other burdens of litigation, such as discovery obligations'," Chutkan wrote.
Gillers said Chutkan's decision to suspend pre-trial hearings "puts pressure on the appellate courts to decide the immunity issues quickly."
"The ball is in their court, so to speak. I predict that the immunity issue will be resolved not later than the end of January, and possibly earlier. There would then be enough time to hold a trial in March if Trump loses on the immunity," he told Newsweek.
Newsweek sought email comment on Thursday from Donald Trump's attorney.
On December 10, the chief prosecutor, Jack Smith, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly decide on Trump's presidential immunity to prevent any delays to the trial. The following day, the Supreme Court said it would decide whether to take the case as soon as possible, an indication of how seriously it views the legal issues involved.
The Supreme Court also issued an order telling Trump's legal team to file their responses to Smith's request by December 20.
The former president was indicted on four counts in Washington, D.C., for allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
It is one of four criminal cases that Trump is facing while he campaigns as frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. He has also pleaded not guilty to charges in the other cases and has repeatedly said that they form part of a political witch hunt.
Gillers said that Chutkan will remain in control of the gag order she has placed on Trump, which prevents him from criticizing witnesses and court staff.
On December 8, a federal appeals court narrowed Chutkan's gag order to allow Trump to criticize Smith.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more