August 5, 2023

Serious mistakes by Trump docs Judge Aileen Cannon could have invalidated an entire criminal case in June. The case in question was unrelated to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago stolen and misused classified documents case. But it once again calls into question her competence, especially after she was raked over the coals by the Court of Appeals for a previous ruling in the case.

Reuters reported that in June, federal District Judge Cannon closed jury selection to the public and to the family of a man accused of running a website showing images of child sex abuse. “A defendant's right to a public trial is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment,” Reuters noted. Law professor Stephen Smith told Reuters Cannon made “a fundamental constitutional error” that “ignored the public trial right entirely. It's as though she didn't know it existed."

But wait, there’s more. She also neglected to swear in the prospective jury pool. It’s as key to a trial as swearing in a witness. “This error forced Cannon to re-start jury selection before the trial ended abruptly with defendant William Spearman pleading guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors,” Reuters said.

There were already grave concerns about the Trump-appointed Cannon presiding over the extremely complex and high-profile Mar-a-Lago documents case when she was appointed to it. She received only a passing grade of “qualified” from the American Bar Association when she was nominated to the federal bench and she has scant criminal trial experience. Far worse, she has acted more like a Trump defense attorney than an impartial judge. Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern described her as having a “total lack of principle” combined with an “evident incapacity to experience shame.”

Now we know this particular one of Trump’s “best people” has repeatedly botched the most basic of court procedures.

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