Habba appeal may not be heard for months, putting N.J. cases in limbo

August 27 update: the Third Circuit has approved the Justice Department’s proposed briefing timeline, though it has not yet set a date for oral arguments.

After a Pennsylvania judge determined last week that acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba had not been appointed properly and did not have the authority to continue serving, President Donald Trump’s administration quickly appealed his ruling – but its proposed timeline for that appeal may leave the situation unresolved for months.

The Justice Department, with the consent of the two New Jersey defendants who had challenged Habba’s authority in the first place, submitted a proposed expedited timeline to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals today that would result in oral arguments in “late October or early November.”

That would mean that Habba, a controversial figure at the center of one of the biggest nomination disputes of the second Trump administration, could be in limbo for months to come, with potential consequences for every federal court proceeding in the District of New Jersey.

When Judge Matthew Brann issued his ruling last week, he also preemptively stayed it pending appeal, theoretically leaving Habba’s authority in place for now. But according to today’s filing, many New Jersey cases had already ground to a halt before the decision came out, since the outcome of the case (and, now, its appeal) will determine whether any prosecution led by Habba’s office is valid.

“Even before Chief Judge Brann had issued his August 21 opinion and order, at least 12 District Judges in the District of New Jersey had begun adjourning matters pending the resolution of these questions,” the filing states. “Those adjourned matters include at least three trials that had been scheduled to begin in September, several guilty plea hearings, several sentencing hearings and a hearing on a post-trial Rule 29 motion. And shortly after Chief Judge Brann issued his opinion and order, yet another sentencing hearing was adjourned.”

The filing thus confirms what a number of news outlets had previously reported: the dispute over Habba’s authority has had a concrete impact on the administration of justice in New Jersey. And given the timeline put forward today, those impacts are not likely to abate any time soon.

“The longer it takes to resolve these appeals, the greater the risk that still more matters will be adjourned indefinitely, contrary to the interests of the Government, defendants, and the public in the disposition of criminal cases,” the filing states.

The Third Circuit has not yet agreed to the proposed timeline, nor has it stated which judges will oversee the case. If the timeline is approved, the next two months would involve several additional deadlines for filing briefs: the government’s brief on September 12, the defendants’ briefs on October 6, and a reply brief from the government on October 14.