Fight Over Trump Nominee Derails NJ Court Cases

Some criminal cases in New Jersey have ground to a halt as the status of the state's top prosecutor is being challenged.

According to the New York Times, an official with the office of the Federal Public Defender in New Jersey says that judges have been advised to delay cases until the issue relating to Alina Habba's status as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey could be decided "expeditiously."

On July 24, President Donald Trump withdrew Alina Habba's original nomination to the role from March 24, clearing a path for her to regain her title after bypassing a provision in federal law that prohibits a person from serving as an acting officer if the president has given their nomination to the Senate. She now is limited to a term of 210 days from when the vacancy became available.

Trump Clears Path For Personal Attorney To Retake Top NJ Prosecutor Role

Now, her authority is being challenged after a lawyer representing defendant Julien Giraud Jr. in a drug trial that was supposed to begin on August 4 in Camden, NJ was moved to Pennsylvania. The lawyer filed a motion arguing that Habba's prosecutorial authority was unconstitutional.

On Monday, pretrial conferences and hearings were canceled and a grand jury meeting to consider indicting defendants on new charges was put on hold. Thomas Mirigliano, the lawyer representing Giraud Jr. in the drug and gun-related case, told POLITICO a hearing that was already scheduled was ended early due to the motion he filed. Defendants were also unable to enter plea deals in a number of other cases.

"I've never seen anything like this...It seems as if anyone who had anything scheduled has heard that whatever proceeding they had, had been adjourned with no new date for now,” Maria Noto, a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey told the Times.

Habba has been in a battle to regain her title as the state's top prosecutor after district judges ousted her in favor of the acting first assistant U.S. attorney, Desiree Leigh Grace. The longtime prosecutor was then fired just hours later on July 22 in an announcement made by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

While no specific reasons are given in the order as to why Grace was chosen as a replacement after Habba's tenure has been a high-profile battle with top New Jersey officials, legal scholars are arguing that Trump's move to reinstate her might not hold enough weight.

Due to her name already being submitted for Senate confirmation, there is a statute that comes into play which says “a person may not serve as an acting officer” if the president “submits a nomination of such person to the Senate for appointment to such office.”

The question now surrounds the idea that the withdrawal does not even matter.

Thomas Mirigliano, the lawyer who filed the motion against Habba's authority, says his case was moved out of concern that the cloud surrounding her status would undermine the proceedings. The chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit signed an order later on Monday stating the trial was being moved to the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Habba's office has been referring questions to the Justice Department in Washington, rather than comment on her status or specific case details.