Much ado about Trump in 11th Circuit

or it may be a 6-5 Trump court but it's unlikely that Trumpian

Sep 19, 2022

If former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirchner is right, Donald Trump may have put his lawyers in an awkward spot.

The question of whether Donald Trump did or did not classify documents is problematic, because Trump’s legal team has been playing games with the lower court in its filings.

That game will not be allowed to continue as Merrick Garland has used that “may he did, maybe he didn’t” as part of the DOJ’s emergency filing to appeal the stay of the investigation pending an appeal of Judge Cannon’s entire decision. And the notice of intent to appeal means Trump’s lawyers are facing a less friendly courtroom and one fraught with a fair amount of risk.

Why? Maybe because Trump’s lies1 are putting putting his lawyers in jeopardy.2 So much so that fewer and fewer lawyers will even take his calls.3 Trump’s lawyers went judge shopping to get a pro-Trump ruling from Judge Cannon, but now they face an appellate Court that has a slim pro-Trump edge (it’s 6-5 Trump appointees to non-Trump appointees).

Even one assumes that the 5 non-Trump members of the 11th Circuit would lift the stay and unbraid Judge Cannon4 for issuing such a poorly reasoned and flawed decision,5 the only real calculation is whether the 6 Trump appointees on the 11th Circuit will protect Trump and Cannon or follow the law.

For Judge Cannon the risks are huge — getting overturned on a point of law is one thing, getting scolded for not getting the law right is another.6 For Trump, assuming he loses “bigly”, the 11th Circuit is a mere bump in the road to the Supreme Court.

So who are the Trump appointees?

Thank you for reading US Politics Reconsidered. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Kevin Newsom - Law professor, former law clerk, and former Solicitor General of Alabama.

Elizabeth Branch - Former Law clerk, worked as counsel to Department Homeland Security and Office of Management and Budget during the Bush Administration, former Georgia Court of Appeals Judge.

Britt Grant - Numerous legal roles in White House under George W. Bush, clerked for Judge Kavanuagh (DC Circuit Court of Appeals). various positions with the Office of Attorney General of Georgia, and former Justice of Supreme Court of Georgia.

Robert Luck - numerous law clerk positions, U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern District of Florida, Judge in Florida’s 11th Cicuit, Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judge, and former Justice of Supreme Court of Florida.

Barbara Logoa - U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern District of Florida, Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judge, and former Justice of Supreme Court of Florida.

Andrew Brasher - Former law clerk, fomer Deputy and State Solicitor General for Alabama, and former U.S. District Court Judge (MD-AL).

Of the six, 4 have political ties to either President George W. Bush or former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The only one with especially strong Trump ties is Judge Brasher (Trump appointed him to the federal bench in 2019 before appointing him to the 11th Circuit).

The five non-Trump appointees? Three were appointed by Obama, one by Clinton, and one by George W. Bush. In case you’re doing the math, that’s a 7-4 Republican tilt on the 11th Circuit.

But it’s also a 4 liberal, 4 Bush Republicans, and 3 Trumpian loyalists 11th Circuit.

US Politics Reconsidered

Much ado about Trump in 11th Circuit

or it may be a 6-5 Trump court but it's unlikely that Trumpian

Discussion about this post