The 11th Circuit is poised to 'slam' Judge Aileen Cannon for protecting Trump: former prosecutor

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

During an appearance on Saturday with MSNBC's Ali Velshi, former federal prosecutor Cynthia Alksne claimed she expected the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to come down hard on U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon over rulings that have protected Donald Trump from a Department of Justice investigation.

Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by the former president just before he lost the 2020 election, has been under scrutiny for a series of rulings that have baffled legal experts and stymied DOJ investigators looking into Trump whisking away stolen government documents to his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Before Thanksgiving, Trump's attorneys were put on the spot by the 11th Circuit judges who appeared more than skeptical of Cannon's pro-Trump rulings, and legal experts expect things to end badly for the former president's lawyers when their ruling comes down -- possibly next week.

Speaking with the MSNBC host, Alksne said she expected Cannon to be on the receiving end of a devastating rebuke.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-11th-circuit-is-poised-to-slam-judge-aileen-cannon-for-protecting-trump-former-prosecutor/ar-AA14AgPw

We'll see.

[triron]

1. Yeah we'll see.

She still accomplished what Trump wanted.

[intrepidity]

7. And she may pay dearly for the privilege nt

[usaf-vet]

21. Did you mean to say she has alreadly been paid $$$,$$$ well for her "legal" rulings.

TFG's approach to justice.

[former9thward]

26. How?

She is a lifetime judge.

[Martin68]

19. Temporarily. The affect on her career might be more long-lasting...

[Cha]

2. I Hope So.. cannon went Agaisnt

the Rule of Law.

Justice Does Matter and she has no business being a judge if she's not going to comply.

[Orrex]

3. Certain individuals have defended Cannon

They have, for instance, insisted that Cannon’s decisions are compatible with precedent and wholly on the level.

Imagine my surprise to hear that people in a position to know have a different view of Cannon’s performance. Hmm…

[Ocelot II]

4. I haven't seen any serious defenses of Cannon,

especially after she overruled the special master in her second order. Only the most ardent and Trumpified legal "experts" are sticking with her any more.

[Scrivener7]

12. You noticed that too? I think they think they're slick.

[The Blue Flower]

5. And what will be the consequence of a rebuke?

She'll still have her job.

[onenote]

6. I expect they will reverse her decision, but

they aren't going to "slam" Cannon directly or otherwise make their decision appear personal.

[SledDriver]

8. former federal prosecutor... claimed she expected...

legal experts expect...

The old "justice is coming" hamster wheel

[Trueblue1968]

9. REMOVE her from the bench

[Beachnutt]

10. Lawyers and judges don't slam

other judges snd lawyers the justice system is one big click.

[Evolve Dammit]

11. A letter? WTF are they going to do? I suspect "absolutely nothin' say it again.."

[Scrivener7]

13. Oh, but come ON! It may happen soon! Really! Someone

thinks maybe she might be "slammed" at some time in the future!
I'm going to add this we don't get called "Debbie Downers."

[SheltieLover]

14. She should be slammed off the bench & into a cell!

[KS Toronado]

18. Yes, for being right in the middle of a cover-up for tfg's coup.

[SheltieLover]

20. Absofuckingloutely!

[AverageOldGuy]

15. Jack Smith . . .

. . . wrote a one-paragraph amicus letter to the 11th Circuit. In that one paragraph Smith told them Judge Cannon's ruling was bullshit. He used legal language but that's what he said.

Here's a linkto Smith's letter, which concludes "None of this (what Judge Cannon said) is true."
[link:https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23317833-jack-smith-filing|https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23317833-jack-smith-filing
]

[NullTuples]

16. 1. Lifetime appointment, cushy job & 2. Doesn't care what they say

I mean, c'mon - she's a MAGA Republican! She'll just turn it around in her head and consider them traitors to America.

[Ford_Prefect]

17. Not quite. There's a formal review process where blots on her record would leave her

stalled at this level of federal office permanently. It is something like rank advancement for military officers. Up or out as they say.

A judge who is often overturned and who receives repeated reprimands for poor legal practice may find themselves out of luck when higher offices and choice assignments come up. I suppose it is possible that she could receive a worse position than the bench she currently resides upon.

[onenote]

22. Not at all the case

All that matters in terms of a district court judge being confirmed to become a court of appeals judge or even a Supreme Court justice is whether there are 51 senators willing to vote for confirmation.

[Ford_Prefect]

28. The performance of a federal judge leads to their recommendation for higher office.

If we get another Trumpian president that won't matter.

However it will when consideration is given to reasonable factors otherwise. A judge who is often overturned or cited for poor judicial practice won't pass muster. Justice Cannon is very unlikely to rise above her current station. With any luck at all her impropriety and dubious reasoning will lead to an earnest recommendation that she retire from that bench before she is thrown out.

[onenote]

29. Again, you're mistaken.

Last edited Mon Nov 28, 2022, 12:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Many appeals court judges get appointed without ever having been a judge in a lower court. In fact, more than half of those nominated by President Biden to serve on the US court of appeals have never served as a judge at either the federal or state level.

The ABA rates judicial nominees after they are submitted to Congress, but they no longer are consulted with prior to the submission of the nominations.

Obviously, so long as a Democrat occupies the White House and/or controls the Senate, Cannon isn't going to be nominated for an appellate court judgeship. But under a Republican president and Republican Senate majority, there is no guarantee at all that she wouldn't be nominated and confirmed.

And there is no circumstance at all under which Cannon is going to be "thrown out" because of her decision in the Mar-a-Lago case. Who do you think would make such a "recommendation" and how do you think it would be implemented?

Returning to your earlier post: There simply is no such thing as a formal "up or out" process for evaluating federal judges. I have no idea where you possibly got the idea that there was.

It is apparent that you have very little understanding of the process by which judges are nominated, confirmed, and serve.

[Ocelot II]

23. The "reasoning" she offered in both of her orders was so bad

and so contrary to established law that after the second one, in which she pretty much doubled down on the first one, I suspected that there had been either some ex parte communication with TFG's lawyers, or some back-channel pressure that probably began as soon as the case was assigned to her. Since TFG filed it in the branch of the FL district in which she was the only regular sitting judge, of course she'd get the case. And just the fact that she was an inexperienced judge who belonged to the Federalist Society isn't enough to explain her decisions - TFG's appointees, all of whom are FS members, have been ruling against him regularly in election-related cases. I suspect there was a setup from the beginning, something more than merely shopping for a sympathetic judge. Maybe she was promised a bright future in the federal judiciary? Who knows, but when a judge drops a turd like that one you have to wonder what they ate.

[Arthur_Frain]

24. Sigh.

Ooo! A devastating rebuke.

A rebuke for a repuke.

Will it keep her from doing more damage? Probably not. Will there be any other repercussions other than that strongly worded letter? No. Any consequences for doing the bidding of her master? Nah.

Susan Collins called, she wants her “strong concern” back.

[Irish_Dem]

25. Cannon was promised something in return for her rulings?

Something big?

[Tickle]

27. Only Congress can remove an Article III judge from office.

Currently, four penalties may be imposed: private censure, public censure, request that the judge voluntarily resign and recommend impeachment to the House of Representatives.