A judge ruled Lindsey Halligan was unconstitutionally appointed. Donald Trumpās team doesnāt care.
The Justice Department is still signing criminal indictments with Lindsey Halliganās nameāalmost a day after a judge ruled that she was unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney.
Federal prosecutors were initially instructed to sign court filings in the name of Halliganās first assistant, after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie concluded Monday that Halligan had no authority to preside over the Eastern District of Virginia since she was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate. But just an hour later, internal emails instructed the department to continue using Halliganās name, labeling Currieās decision āpremature,ā reportedĀ MS NOWās Lisa Rubin.
The move is aĀ flagrant violationĀ of Currieās court order, which threw out Donald Trumpās cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Double jeopardy is not a factor in this situation, because the first jeopardy ādoes not attachā until a jury is seated and sworn in for trial, or when a guilty plea is accepted. The trial by jury is the ājeopardousā part of the criminal justice process. If the case is tossed before that point for any reason, then there is no jeopardy bar to refiling.
If a trial starts, but ends in a mistrial, then it is usually possible to go to another trial, even though jeopardy āhas attachedā. A mistrial ruling effectively āunwindsā the entire trial like it never happened.
This is what Judge Currie said in her opinion. The indictments didnāt happen because they were run entirely by a pretend US attorney.