On July 1, 2024, in Washington, the United States, on the last day of the term of the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices made rulings on pending cases.
Leah Millis | Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling on Monday sent a federal case accusing Donald Trump of trying to overturn his failed 2020 election back to Judge Tanya Chutkan for a key decision that will impact the future of this historic prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Chatchan in Washington will have to decide whether two Supreme Court rulings require the dismissal of some of the claims against the Republican presidential nominee.
She will also decide the timing of the trial, which will determine whether jurors hear evidence that Trump sought to overturn the last election ahead of his Nov. 5 rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.
Chatkan had previously promised that Trump would have about 90 days to prepare for the trial once the case returns to court, which is expected to last six to eight weeks.
Trump was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records and faces two other criminal indictments in addition to the federal election subversion case, the only case that many legal observers believe has a slim chance of going to trial before the election.
Chatkan, who was born in Jamaica and was nominated to the bench by former Democratic President Barack Obama, was assigned to oversee the Trump case in August 2023. Haven’t done anything for over six months.
Chatkan, who gained courtroom experience as a public defender representing people accused of murder and sexual assault, has previously shown little patience with Trump’s delaying tactics and attacks on the criminal justice system.
The fact that the defendant was involved in a political campaign does not give him any greater or less freedom than any defendant in a criminal case,” Chatkan told Trump’s attorneys during a hearing last year.
This undated photo provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts shows U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Associated Press
Chutkan, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, has represented indigent defendants in Washington, D.C., for more than a decade.
“She’s passionate. She’s smart. She’s serious,” said Heather Shaner, a Washington criminal defense attorney who has represented Chutkan. “She doesn’t tolerate fools.”
Even before Trump’s case made it to court, Chatkant drew attention for sentencing some of the defendants who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by Trump supporters to harsher sentences than prosecutors sought. people’s attention.
“There must be consequences for participating in attempts to violently overthrow a government, not just sitting at home,” Chatkan told a hearing as he ordered one defendant to serve time in prison.
“The president is not the king”
Chatkan’s comments about the Capitol attack were part of the indictment against Trump, leading Trump’s lawyers to unsuccessfully try to recuse her from the case. Trump has often verbally attacked judges in his legal cases, calling Chutkan “very biased and unfair” in a social media post last year.
This case is not the first time Chutkan has implicated Trump. In 2021, she dismissed a civil lawsuit he filed seeking to block a U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 attack from accessing White House records, writing that “the president is not the king and the plaintiff is not the president.”
Chatkan’s handling of the Trump case contrasts with that of U.S. District Judge Erin Cannon in Florida, who is overseeing a separate federal criminal case involving Trump withholding secrets after he leaves office in 2021 document.
Cannon, who was nominated by Trump, has been receptive to Trump’s defense arguments and has delayed the start of the trial indefinitely while he considers his series of legal challenges to the charges.
Chatkan quickly dismissed Trump’s argument that he could not face prosecution for official actions he took while president, writing in his December 2023 ruling that the US president “does not grant a lifetime ‘get out of jail free’ pass” ”.
But the justices must now take another look at the issue after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority found that the former president was immune from official actions. The ruling requires Chutkan to apply its new standard to the case against Trump.
Chatkan also may need to determine the impact of another Supreme Court ruling that raised the legal standard for bringing federal obstruction of justice charges against those accused of rioting at the Capitol. Two of the four charges against Trump were brought under the same law, but prosecutors have previously said they intended to move forward with them in his case.
It could be an uphill climb for Trump’s lawyers. At a hearing last year, Trump attorney John Lauro praised Chatkan, saying she “hit the point” when she made her point from the bench.
“This may be the last time you say that for a while,” Chatkan replied, drawing laughter from the courtroom.
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