Alina Habba: A Parking Garage Lawyer with $1 Million in Sanction Penalties
In the first appellate court decision on Donald Trump’s persistent effort to put Insurance Lawyers, Election Deniers, and other sundry actors play-acting as US Attorneys, the Third Circuit has unanimously ruled that Alina Habba really is nothing more than a Parking Garage lawyer.
Habba is not the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by virtue of her appointment as First Assistant U.S. Attorney because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office under the FVRA. Additionally, because Habba was nominated for the vacant U.S. Attorney position, the FVRA’s nomination bar prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney. Finally, the Attorney General’s delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba is prohibited by the FVRA’s exclusivity provision. Therefore, we will affirm the District Court’s disqualification order.
This ruling, if applied elsewhere, would cause problems for Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer, Sigal the Election Denying Laywer, and Bill the Claremont Nut, as well — including Essayli, whom a judge ruled could act as First AUSA.
Abbe Lowell, who represents Letitia James in EDVA, argued this case before the court.
The Third Circuit ruling comes even as the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Alina the Parking Garage lawyer is not only just a Parking Garage lawyer, but a frivolous one at that, sustaining the $1 million in fees on her and her liege Donald Trump.
IIRC, the Third Circuit is where Emil Bove went when he got elevated to the appellate bench. If this decision was unanimous it follows that Bove voted against his former partner-in-Trump’s-defense Habba. Am I reading this right?
If yes, then I wonder whether Bove is trying to stay in the good graces of Judge Boasberg until Republican Senators try to impeach Boasberg.
Hoping Boasberg gets to Bove’s role in the DOJ flouting of his (Boasberg’s) judicial order sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, Turley is spouting misinformation about “Russiagate” and glossing over the crime at the U.S. Capitol in this Hill piece supporting anti-Boasberg Republican senators .
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/5618336-the-selective-outrage-of-judge-james-boasberg/
Nope. Bove the Execrable was not on the three judge panel.
Good to know! Thx
Yes! Tony, I’ve been trying to thank you for correcting me and I keep getting a “duplicate reply” notice, but then can’t cancel the one I wrote to start over.
Technical issues aside, I had assumed that EW’s “unanimously” meant the entire court, not a panel. I appreciate the correction!
Yes, it took me a while, but found this page:
https://ca03portal.powerappsportals.us/View-Case/?id=c30feac5-b1ce-f011-bbd2-001dd806fbd1
I believe the reference to the tenth circuit (in Denver) should instead be to the eleventh (in Atlanta). Thanks for highlighting that 11/26 order, which I had missed.
Correct. I fixed it just as the gods booted me out, and forgot to fix it again. TY
Not to make light of the stakes here, but Drebeen and Lowell are no doubt having a lot of fun arguing their cases against idiot lawyers representing the DOJ.
No doubt, and Popok over at Legal AF can’t hide his glee with the turn of events. After all, unless they are trumpers, judges do not like being lied to or undermined. The question is whether Convict-1 risks an en banc smackdown (which would mark Bove as a trumper) or goes straight to SCOTUS. When it comes to intimidation, the effective threat is more useful than getting exposed. That’s why appeasement doesn’t work.