June 12, 2023
So what’s going to happen when former President trump shows up to the federal court in Miami tomorrow?
Well, first you have to understand — this is a federal district court– not a state court like we saw when the former President showed up in Manhattan a few months ago. The rules are different.
The federal court system all across the US has strict rules about no electronics. We may get some sketches from inside the courtroom but this hearing tomorrow is not going to be broadcast on tv. It’s just not allowed. That has nothing to do with Trump – that’s just how the federal court system works.
Will the former President be arrested and get a mugshot? Well, we know he absolutely will be placed in custody of law enforcement at the federal courthouse and processed like everyone when he arrives. But a mugshot may or may not be taken. But even if one is taken, federal mugshots are not allowed to be released. Again that has nothing to do with Trump that’s just how the federal system works under the law.
Let’s talk a little big about the judge. First, tomorrow, the former President will appear in front of a magistrate judge to officially hear the charges against him and enter a plea. But after that, federal judge Aileen Cannon – a Trump appointee has been randomly assigned to oversee this case. And if her name sounds familiar, it should. She was the same judge who oversaw the issue of whether to appoint a special master in this very same documents case involving the former President last year. I covered that in great detail. At the time judge cannon ruled in favor of trump on several issues…but in the end the conservative-leaning 11th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a scathing ruling unanimously striking down most of her rulings saying the law was clear and Cannon clearly did not apply it.
There’s been a lot of questions about how — of all the active judges who sit on the bench in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida — how judge Cannon could be selected for another Trump case when she already presided over the last one. Well according to the Chief Clerk – under the district court’s procedures, new cases are randomly delegated to a judge who sits in the division where the matter is rooted or a neighboring one, even it relates to a previous case. Mar-a-Lago sits in the West Palm Beach division of the federal court, between the Fort Lauderdale division and the Fort Pierce division – where judge Cannon sits. Seven active judges have chambers in those three divisions and because of the case loads of some of those judges, that increased cannon’s odds of being selected again. According to that same clerk, cannon will continue to handle this trump documents case unless she decides to recuse herself.
Lastly, will this case start or even get wrapped up before the election. That’s up to lots of factors. The judge certainly has a say in how fast or slow the preliminary hearings go and how fast or slow a trial date is set. But so does the defense and prosecution. We already know the special counsel has said his office is going to seek a “speedy” trial. But we have not yet heard from the former president’s team.
