Trump to Sue Judge in Last-Ditch Attempt to Avert Manhattan Trial

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times

April 8, 2024 Updated 12:18 p.m. ET


Donald J. Trump, a week away from standing trial in Manhattan on criminal charges that he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal, has indicated he plans to file a lawsuit against the judge overseeing the case.

The lawsuit was not immediately made public, but court records showed on Monday that Mr. Trump was filing an action against the judge, Juan M. Merchan, in an 11th-hour bid to delay the case. An online court docket where Mr. Trump is filing the action showed that the related paperwork was sealed.

Two people with knowledge of the matter said that Mr. Trump’s lawyers on Monday planned to file the action calling on an appeals court to delay the trial and to challenge a gag order that Justice Merchan recently imposed on the former president. The order prevents Mr. Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and the judge’s own family.

Mr. Trump’s unorthodox move — essentially an appeal in the form of a lawsuit — is unlikely to succeed, particularly so close to trial. And the appeals court might act fast to reject it. A single appeals court judge will most likely issue a preliminary ruling on Monday, setting up a full five-judge panel to consider Mr. Trump’s request in the coming days.



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/08/nyregion/trump-hush-money-trial-delay.html

---

No paywall (gift)

[Turbineguy]

1. His lawyers must be expecting to retire.

[Kennah]

23. Better ask to get paid at the close of each day, and check with the bank to ensure payment didn't bounce

[FarPoint]

2. This law suit will fail...

He could blame it on the Eclipse...hahaha

[Irish_Dem]

3. Trump wages brutal legal warfare.

He will never stop.

[yankee87]

5. Filing lawsuits on the steps

of the courthouse. He'll do anything to avoid responsibility.

[CrispyQ]

4. So will he be able to take this to the supremes, too?

I know the article says the ploy is unlikely to succeed but I don't have a lot of confidence in our justice system anymore.

[MadameButterfly]

10. How many things has he tried that experts said would fail

and he's found the necessary judges to give him just enough credence to delay. This is our last hope and if some appeals judge we don't know lets it cause delay, or if SCOTUS gets their hand on it, it's all over

[Oopsie Daisy]

6. It will be his justification to appeal after he loses. He'll say that the judge was angry over the lawsuit *

* and wanted to get-even. "Unfair! Unfair!"

[iluvtennis]

7. Frivolous - this shithole lawsuit should be thrown in the dumpster. n/t

[ShazzieB]

14. It probably will end up in the dumpster.

Just like a his other frivolous lawsuits.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's had more lawsuits thrown out in his lifetime than most people ever file.

If I hear this suit actually has legs, I'll worry about it then

[lastlib]

25. with the idjit asshole that filed it.....

(...and I don't mean the lawyer....)

And then padlock the dumpster until the trash pickup gets to the landfill. Then quarantine the landfill.....

[Comfortably_Numb]

8. Hair Poopy Pants is having a shit storm of fear. I'm loving it.....Merd a Lardo memo-order more ketchup.

And nappies. And it’s time to sanction these blowhard lawyers for filing frivolous lawsuits. Fuck ‘em all.

[MiniMe]

9. You'd think if he was innocent he'd want the case to be heard ASAP

Cough cough

[FakeNoose]

11. All Chump had to do was hire Stormy Daniels to be a campaign worker

This BS would have all gone away years ago. Who cares that he slept with her? Nobody. I don't think even Melania cares. It's the fact that he paid Daniels hush money and then tried to pass it off as a legitimate "campaign" expense. So Uncle Sam cares.

For E. Jean Carroll he could have swept it under a rug by apologizing to her (back when it happened 30 years ago) and offering her a contract to write a book or some kind of PR thing. But no, he's the worst kind of asshole and he has no idea how to behave, especially towards women.

I hope he gets every nasty thing he deserves in every one of these trials. These judges CANNOT back down.

[Journeyman]

12. Somehow, I doubt even this will be the "last ditch appeal" . . .

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

13. Trying to force a recusal?

I wonder if Trump will claim that now that he and the judge are in an adversarial state in the lawsuit that the judge must recuse himself from the criminal trial.

I would hope this would not succeed, not least because it would set precedent that anyone that wanted to force a judge out of a trial would simply need to sue them.

Anything to delay.

[truthisfreedom]

15. This is the trial with the greatest likelihood of sinking him.

I can imagine he is quite scared. Too bad!

[CaptainTruth]

16. In related news, Trump is suing his mother for making him eat his vegetables.

Trump is the biggest whining crybaby I've ever seen.

[Trueblue1968]

17. Rapist ... Crook .... Peodiphile .... Racist .... Bigot .... Woman hater... Murderer

Evil

AntiChrist .... Demon

[Maeve]

18. Thank you for gifting the full article

[dchill]

19. At some point in the near future...

... I expect him to fling shit like the spider monkeys at the zoo. You know - literally.

[Maxheader]

20. Is the yellow haired loons ..

automobile financier gonna help with the lawyer bills?

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Is Donald Trump trying to hide something?

[lakercub]

22. I really think this should lead to sanctions, if not worse, for his lawyers

There are reasons you CAN sue your judge but they are pretty specific. I found this article which talks about it. There are ways to get judges removed, censured, etc, but lawsuits are almost never the way and his lawyers should know that. There really should be punishment for this level of bad legal advice. If this is Trump's idea, his lawyers, if they had any ethics, should try and resign or drop their client (this close to the case that would be tough). If it was the their idea it should be grounds for punishment because a half-decent lawyer wouldn't even go down this path.

https://www.findlaw.com/litigation/filing-a-lawsuit/can-i-sue-a-judge-.html#:~:text=Most%20of%20the%20time%2C%20however,judicial%20officers%2C%20including%20court%20judges.

Excerpt:
That said, absolute immunity does not extend protection beyond judicial functions. Certain judicial acts can be so egregious that culpable judges could face some form of criminal or civil liability for their wrongdoings. You may be able to pay a filing fee to bring a civil action against a judge who:

Acts outside the scope of judicial functions
Commits misconduct that interferes with their judicial duties
Otherwise commits an illegal action that harms you or the public at large, or which is subject to a lower standard of “qualified" immunity, as contrasted with absolute immunity
In addition, a prosecutor may be able to seek criminal charges against a judge for breaking the law.

For example, the United States Supreme Court restricted judicial immunity in a civil rights case where a woman, a subordinate court employee, sued a male judge for firing her based on her sex. The judge was found liable for violating the woman's civil rights. The Supreme Court found that the judge's action was an administrative function and not a judicial act, and therefore not protected by absolute immunity. The moral of this case is that if a judge acts outside the scope of their judicial function, you can sue.

[Kennah]

24. Ask for parlay

[catnipcoffee]

26. Vexatious?

At what point does he get designated a vexatious litigant?

(Seriously, he's going to use every trick he can think of. When is enough, well, enough?)