Several legal experts have stated that the federal judge in former President Donald Trump’s election-related case is likely to postpone his trial, currently scheduled for March, following several recent orders.
Weeks later, the federal judge, based in Washington, scheduled the trial for a Jan. 6, 2021, defendant to begin on April 2. The date is just over three weeks before the scheduled start of President Trump’s trial. Prosecutors have said that the trial will likely last at least four weeks.
Analysts Doubtful
Lawyer and legal analyst Lisa Rubin wrote that Judge Chutkan might delay President Trump’s trial due to the scheduled April 2 trial date for the Jan. 6 defendant.With this new trial scheduling, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on her Substack page that “the clock continues to tick, making it all but impossible for Judge Chutkan’s March 5 trial date in the Special Counsel’s January 6 prosecution to hold up.”
Another former prosecutor, Jordan Rubin, wrote that “some observers are eager for a ruling as soon as possible to avoid further delay of Trump’s federal election interference trial,” but the “judges’ greatest concern” is not “whether the opinion takes weeks instead of days.”
“There’s also the possibility that even if all three judges on the [appeals court] panel conclude that Trump isn’t immune, they might have different rationales and may think that certain issues deserve more analysis than others,” he added. “If they can’t incorporate those views into a single opinion, then a judge who agrees on the bottom line but for different reasons might write a concurring opinion that explains their separate views.”
Mr. Rubin added: “It’s possible that after a judge initially indicated they wanted to take a separate view, the panel is taking time to synthesize any disagreement into a single, coherent opinion.”
Speaking to Newsweek this month, Neama Rahmani, head of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, stated that a March 4 trial date is highly unlikely. She added that, as the appeals process plays out, there is a chance that President Trump’s Jan. 6 trial won’t happen before the November 2024 election.
“That process will take months, and unless Judge Chutkan lifts the stay, there is a possibility that Trump’s trial does not happen before the November election. The other trial scheduled in April is a reflection of that reality,” she told Newsweek.
Other Details
Earlier this month, the judge had clarified that the March 4 trial date, which was set in August 2023, was designed to give both President Trump’s team and the special counsel’s prosecutors more time to prepare for the case.Ultimately, her court adopted President Trump’s lawyers’ recommendation to prevent the parties from filing “any further substantive pretrial motions without first seeking leave from the court,” which means the case cannot proceed. The defendant also “forfeits no arguments or rights by choosing not to respond at this time,” she wrote.
“Diligent defense counsel will need to conduct a preliminary review of each substantive motion the government files in order to know whether they need to take further action,” wrote Judge Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, this month. “While that is not a major burden, it is a cognizable one.”
In her court orders, Judge Chutkan has not specifically stated that she would postpone the trial. However, she has written that if the case is returned to her jurisdiction, she will consider adjusting the scheduling dates accordingly, including the currently set trial date of March 4.
Meanwhile, a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court may result in the dismissal of two out of four charges against President Trump. A defendant charged with obstruction of an official proceeding in connection with the Jan. 6 incident has appealed his charges. President Trump faces two counts under that same obstruction statute.
