Court rules Habba’s U.S. Attorney appointment unlawful

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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Shruthi Krishnamurthy

Good morning. A federal judge ruled that former Trump lawyer Alina Habba was unlawfully appointed as acting U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to implement diversity-related cuts to grants issued by the NIH. And could outside investors own a stake in a Big Law firm? Find out in this week's Billable Hours. It's finally Friday. Let's dig in!

Judge rules Alina Habba was unlawfully appointed as US Attorney in New Jersey

REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann sided with two New Jersey criminal defendants who sought to block President Trump's former personal lawyer Alina Habba from prosecuting them based on a claim she was unlawfully appointed as the state's top federal prosecutor. Here's what to know:

The ruling is a setback for Trump's DOJ, which maneuvered to keep Habba in her post and circumvent a judicial decision not to extend her interim tenure. Read more about it here.
"Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not," wrote Brann, noting in his ruling that Habba's actions since July 1 "may be declared void." Read the decision.
The ruling is likely to spur similar legal challenges and could bring hundreds of federal criminal cases in New Jersey to a halt.
In July, judges of the U.S. District Court in New Jersey declined to extend Habba's tenure as interim U.S. attorney, instead naming the second-highest ranking official in the office, Desiree Grace, as her replacement. However, hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Grace had been removed, accusing the judges of having political motivations and seeking to thwart Trump's authority. Learn more.
Despite the judicial decision, Habba later wrote on X that she was now the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey. Read more here.
U.S. law allows federal district courts to intervene if an interim U.S. attorney's 120-day term expires, and courts have regularly invoked that authority. Legal experts have said that, while the Trump administration appeared to have the legal authority for its actions, these moves could further strain its relationship with federal courts. Learn more.

Coming up today

The Trump administration will ask the 9th Circuit for a stay pending appeal of a lower court order that placed a nationwide block on reinstating the president's "Remain in Mexico" policy. Read the government's motion here and read the plaintiff's reply.
The Trump administration will urge U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, to put on hold a nationwide injunction barring it from terminating the legal statuses of international students throughout the country in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling curtailing so-called universal injunctions.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

What would it take for outside investors to own a stake in a major U.S. law firm's business? It's a question that's gaining new urgency, after litigation finance giant Burford Capital revealed it is in talks to take such a step. Find out more in this week's Billable Hours.
A&O Shearman said it generated $3.89 billion in client revenue last year, as the firm reported its first financial results since the completion of a major transatlantic merger. Read more here.
The D.C. Court of Appeals said it is placing the law license of former lead federal prosecutor Amanda Haines in the 2001 Chandra Levy murder case on probation for one year. More on that here.
Moves: DLA Piper hired emerging growth and venture capital partner Jeff Klein from Goodwin Proctor … Baker Donelson added corporate partner Paul Turner from Womble Bond Dickinson … Hinshaw added bankruptcy and restructuring partner Logan Rappaport from Bronster … Best Best & Krieger hired environment and natural resources law partner Michael Brain from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

In the courts

The U.S. Supreme Court let the Trump administration proceed with sweeping cuts to NIH grants for research related to racial minorities or LGBT people, part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and transgender identity. Read the decision.
The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department threw out an approximately half-billion dollar penalty that Donald Trump had been ordered to pay after a judge found that the president fraudulently overstated the value of his properties and other assets to bolster his family business. New York AG Letitia James' office said it will appeal the decision. Read the decision.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago rejected a bid by the Trump administration and Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights to block enforcement of a new Illinois law that requires non-profits to publicly report data they collect on the race, gender and sexual orientation of their governing bodies. Read the order.
Elon Musk and his social media company X Corp have reached a tentative agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by former Twitter employees who said they were owed $500 million in severance pay. Read the filing.
Perplexity AI failed to convince a New York federal court to dismiss or transfer a lawsuit by News Corp's Dow Jones and the New York Post over the artificial intelligence startup's alleged misuse of their articles to train its AI systems. Read the order.

Friday rewind

This Friday, let's catch up on some explainer pieces Reuters ran this week:

National Guard deployment

President Trump called upon governors from several Republican states to deploy their states' National Guard to D.C., which he has claimed is ridden with crime. As troops poured into D.C., Trump also suggested that he might send the National Guard to other cities. Learn more about the authority Trump has to deploy troops in D.C. and cities around the U.S.

Mail-in ballots

Trump wants to ban mail-in ballots in federal elections. While the president does not have clear legal authority to do this, his allies in Congress and state governments could enact policies barring the practice. Here is a look at Trump's authority and how the law could be changed.

The legal battles over redistricting in Texas and California

Texas lawmakers approved a new congressional map this week at the behest of President Trump, seeking to preserve his Republican Party's slim majority in the House of Representatives in the November 2026 midterm elections. In response, the California Senate on Thursday moved forward with legislation to give Democrats five more House seats in the state. Here's what to know about the court fights that are brewing.

Attorney Analysis

Chris Carlson, Blake Christopher and Kyara Rivera Rivera of Troutman Pepper Locke examine a recent trend of state AGs publicizing when they initiate an investigation and the considerations for companies on the receiving end. Read today's Attorney Analysis.

Contact

Caitlin Tremblay

caitlin.tremblay@thomsonreuters.com

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