🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
The Supreme Court is set to deliver a judgment on Donald Trump's presidential immunity before he goes on trial on election fraud charges on March 4, 2024.
On Sunday, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to take the case "certiorari before judgment"—meaning it would bypass the long federal appeals process and go straight to America's highest court.
This was done in United States v. Nixon, after President Richard Nixon refused to hand over secret White House tape recordings to a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal, and it is only used in extraordinary cases.
"The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request," Smith's filing said. "This is an extraordinary case."
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the request on an expedited basis and said that Trump's lawyers have until 4 p.m. on Wednesday to reply to Smith's request. That deadline for Trump's lawyers is two days longer than Smith had requested.
"Petitioner's motion to expedite consideration of the petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment is granted, and respondent is directed to file a response to the petition on or before 4 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, December 20, 2023," the court wrote. It does not mean the court will take up the case, only that it will consider the request as quickly as it can.
Trump 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 2021 riot in 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.
Newsweek sought email comment on Tuesday from Trump's attorney.
The Supreme Court does not have a conference day until January 5, 2024, making it likely the earliest date it will vote on whether to hear the case.
A conference day is a closed session of the Supreme Court where the justices vote on which cases to accept.
Given the exceptionally serious nature of the case, it's possible the Supreme Court could hold a special conference day before that date to vote on the case.
If it does accept the case, it could hear oral arguments in early 2024. As it has so far only agreed to fast track its decision whether to hear the case, there is no guarantee that the case itself would be placed on fast track schedule.
In October, Trump's legal team filed its first motion to dismiss the case, citing what Trump's lawyers claim is his "absolute immunity" from prosecution for actions taken while serving in the nation's highest office.
The judge overseeing the case, D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, rejected the motion.
fairness meter
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