Federal court proceedings throughout New Jersey were abruptly canceled on Monday because of uncertainty over whether Alina Habba had the authority to serve as acting U.S. attorney — a title she was given last week as her interim appointment as NJ’s top federal prosecutor was about to expire (previous coverage available here).
Pretrial conferences and hearings set for defendants to enter pleas were called off, according to four lawyers who received word that their clients’ scheduled court appearances had been canceled. A grand jury that was expected to meet to consider indicting defendants on new criminal charges was put on hold.
A drug trial that was set to start Aug. 4 in Camden, N.J., was moved to Pennsylvania after a lawyer representing one of the defendants filed a motion arguing that Ms. Habba’s prosecutorial authority was unconstitutional.
The confusion and cancellations in New Jersey’s federal courts followed a high-stakes battle last week between the Trump administration and the state’s Federal District Court judges over who would lead the U.S. attorney’s office. A panel of district judges had selected a veteran New Jersey prosecutor and Habba's First Assistant, Desiree L. Grace, to take over after Habba’s term as interim U.S. attorney expired last week, as they are authorized by law to do.
But Justice Department officials quickly fired Ms. Grace, a widely respected prosecutor — creating a vacancy that Ms. Habba herself was named to fill days later.
The lawyer who filed Monday’s legal motion challenging Ms. Habba’s authority, said the drug trial had been moved out of concern that the murkiness of Ms. Habba’s standing might undermine the proceedings.
The court described the motion as a “nonfrivolous argument” and indicated that other federal judges were prepared to temporarily halt court proceedings in New Jersey while the matter of Ms. Habba’s authority was being considered.
The chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit signed an order moving the drug trial outside the District of New Jersey. The one-sentence order stated that the trial was being moved to the Middle District of Pennsylvania “in the public interest,” without additional explanation.