Appeals court orders judge to respond to Flynn's petition to have case thrown out

[mystery-ak]

Appeals court orders judge to respond to Flynn's petition to have case thrown out
by Jerry Dunleavy
 | May 21, 2020 06:04 PM



A federal appeals court ordered the judge overseeing the case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to respond to a petition filed by the former Trump national security adviser for the criminal charges against him to be discarded.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit told Judge Emmet Sullivan that he has 10 days to explain why he should not be forced to let the Justice Department drop its case against Flynn.

“Upon consideration of the emergency petition for a writ of mandamus, it is ORDERED, on the court’s own motion, that within ten days of the date of this order the district judge file a response addressing the petitioner’s request that this court order the district judge to grant the government’s motion to dismiss filed on May 7, 2020," the appeals court said.

Sullivan was told to address Rule 48 from the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which governs the government’s actions related to dismissing cases, and to address the D.C. Circuit Court ruling in United States v. Fokker Services, which limited the authority of courts in rejecting deferred prosecution agreements. Both were raised by Flynn’s lawyers in their petition.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/appeals-court-orders-judge-to-respond-to-flynns-petition-to-have-case-thrown-out

[Free Vulcan]

Hot damn!

[Cyber Liberty]

Good news.  The Circuit wants to move swiftly.

[aligncare]

It was a unanimous decision and an unprecedented action taken by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Interesting though, that while the judge was clearly being slapped down, Judge Sullivan was not directly named and was referred to simply as “the federal judge.”  Obviously face-saving wording by the court.


Two stories. The first by the Washington Post, followed by the Politico:

Appeals court orders Flynn judge to defend actions, as legal scholars weigh in

An appeals court Thursday ordered the judge in Michael Flynn’s case to defend his actions after Flynn’s attorneys asked that his conviction be dismissed immediately, as requested by the Justice Department.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit took the unusual step of ordering U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to answer within 10 days accusations from Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser. The court also invited the Justice Department to comment.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/appeals-court-orders-federal-judge-to-respond-to-michael-flynns-request-to-get-his-conviction-dismissed/2020/05/21/94a7149c-9b95-11ea-a2b3-5c3f2d1586df_story.html


Appeal Court orders Flynn judge to explain himself

The federal judge overseeing the tumultuous case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn has until May 31 to explain his rationale for declining to immediately dismiss the case against Flynn after the Justice Department moved to drop the matter.

A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia say district court judge Emmet Sullivan must respond within 10 days to a request by Flynn that the higher court force him to drop the case. The appeals court order is the latest twist in a remarkable series of events that have thrown the Flynn case into turmoil on the eve of his sentencing for pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.


More: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/21/appeal-court-flynn-judge-273967

[Cyber Liberty]

@aligncare

Yesterday's new development:  Sullivan lawyered up!  It remains to be seen if the Appeals Court accepts this action.  They asked for the Judge's excuse, not some lawyer's.

[catfish1957]

@aligncare

Yesterday's new development:  Sullivan lawyered up!  It remains to be seen if the Appeals Court accepts this action.  They asked for the Judge's excuse, not some lawyer's.

Some dot connecting time needed now to see how far up the food chain this creeps.

[Cyber Liberty]

Some dot connecting time needed now to see how far up the food chain this creeps.

This appears to be turning into a cat-fight between Judges.   

[aligncare]

@aligncare

Yesterday's new development:  Sullivan lawyered up!  It remains to be seen if the Appeals Court accepts this action.  They asked for the Judge's excuse, not some lawyer's.

Good point. If Sullivan is not careful, he could find himself off the court (if there is a God in Heaven).

Flynn deserved better than Sullivan the hanging judge and his kangaroo court.

FREE FLYNN NOW!

[Cyber Liberty]

Good point. If Sullivan is not careful, he could find himself off the court (if there is a God in Heaven).

Flynn deserved better than Sullivan the hanging judge and his kangaroo court.

FREE FLYNN NOW!

I agree about Sullivan.  He's figured out this is career-defining, and maybe even career-ending!  One of the things Powell asked for was removal of Sullivan to have another Judge turn the hand-crank on cutting Flynn loose.  That's the equivalent of saying, "You had ONE job!  And you couldn't even do that." 

I hear the smart lawyer guys talk on the TeeBee about how rare it would be if the Appeals Court actually took the case.  By that reasoning we are already well past "rare" and well into "unique," with the Appeals Court accepting it, then demanding a  personal Brief from Sullivan explaining himself, and now Sullivan reacting by hiring a Ghost Writer to compose that brief.  Heck, he even fobbed off the labor of producing a document to indict Flynn on a brand new charge of Perjury to that retired Judge Gleeson guy.

Meanwhile, I think Sullivan has issued the "schedule" for accepting Amicus Briefs. 

[Free Vulcan]

Judges are guided by internal rules and procedures of conduct, as well as the body of court precedents such as the Fokker case. The appeals court is simply asking Sullivan to explain himself according to those.

There really is no room in this situation for outside counsel. It neither needed or welcome, or most likely legal, as this is an internal request/review and not a trial.

Sullivan probably thinks it's a real brassy tactical move, but it likely will achieve the opposite effect he desires, mainly ticking off the appeals court and getting himself slapped down hard.

Add: As the Red State article speculated, the hiring of Wilkinson by Sullivan implies that he has more here to damage him than just his courtroom behavior, and this may be an early jump in on that to protect himself.