3rd Circuit disqualifies Trump ally Habba

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By Sara Merken

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REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/ File Photo

The 3rd Circuit determined that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was unlawfully appointed as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey and disqualified her from supervising cases in a decision rebuking the president.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based appeals court was the latest blow to Trump and his DOJ as they seek to install loyalists to oversee key U.S. attorney offices around the country.

The 3rd Circuit upheld U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann's ruling in August that the Trump administration violated a federal appointments law in naming Habba as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey. "It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place," Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the ruling. Read the opinion here.

The ruling is likely to impact scores of active federal criminal cases in New Jersey, forcing the DOJ to find a new prosecutor to supervise those cases. The administration could appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more from Andrew Goudsward.

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo

The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with a bid by Cox Communications to avoid financial liability in a major music copyright lawsuit by record labels that accused the internet service provider of enabling its customers to pirate thousands of songs.

The justices appeared skeptical of Cox's assertion that its mere awareness of user piracy could not justify holding it liable for copyright infringement. They also questioned whether holding Cox liable for failing to cut off infringers could impact a wide range of innocent internet users.

"We are being put to two extremes here," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Paul Clement, the lawyer representing the labels. "How do we announce a rule that deals with those two extremes?" My colleague Blake Brittain has more on the arguments.

U.S. consumers are expected to spend $14.2 billion on Cyber Monday … Airbus confirmed it faced an industrial quality issue with metal panels on some A320-family jets, in its latest challenge after a recall to fix a computer glitch … Deaths and injuries from landmines and unexploded ordnance hit a four-year high in 2024, driven by conflicts in Syria and Myanmar, a new report showed. Plus, a look at how a 28-year-old stayed home and saved six figures.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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