Anti-Trump judge assigned to Hannah Dugan trial
Donald Trump has had no luck during this presidency in terms of drawing judges for his case, and that extends back to his criminal and civil cases before he took back the White House.
The latest is an anti-Trump judge being assigned the criminal trial of Judge Hannah Dugan, who allegedly helped an illegal immigrant try to evade capture by ICE agents.
Judge Merchan
Judge Juan Merchan drew Trump’s hush-money case, and the right went after him immediately, for several reasons.
First, there was the fact that Merchan had donated to Democrat campaigns, including Joe Biden’s. The donations were nothing of substance, but that really does not matter when you are talking about a judge overseeing a case from the opposite party to which he was loyal.
For me, the bigger issue was Merchan’s daughter, whose company was fundraising off the trial and who had worked for numerous Democrats in the past.
There was a clear conflict of interest here, but the media did not really seem to mind the fact that the outcome of the case seemed determined long before any evidence was presented.
Trump Blocked by Judge
Donald Trump has also not had much luck in the cases since becoming president, as plaintiffs in these cases are filing suits in districts where they have a far better chance of drawing a liberal judge than a conservative one.
Case in point, Trump drew U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in one of the cases filed against the illegals who were deported to El Salvador. Murphy is one of the many judges appointed during the Biden administration, and just about all of them have ruled against Trump in these cases.
Murphy lectured an DOJ attorney, stating, “If your position today is that we don’t have to give them any notice, and we can send them to any country other than the country to which the immigration court has said no, that’s a very surprising thing to hear the government say.”
Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for the migrants at the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, stated, “We’re relieved the judge saw the urgency of this situation both for our named plaintiffs and other similarly situated individuals.”
Another Bad Draw
We were all hoping for a conservative judge to get pulled in Dugan’s case, but we drew Clinton appointee Judge Lynn Adelman, who had a long history of making anti-Trump statements.
For instance, Adelman once stated that Trump’s temperament "is that of an autocrat," but who he said "is also disinclined to buck the wealthy individuals and corporations who control his party."
She has also been very critical of Chief Justice Roberts, and was admonished by the Civility Committee of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated, "The opening two sentences regarding the Chief Justice and the very pointed criticisms of Republican Party policy positions could be seen as inconsistent with a judge's duty to promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and as reflecting adversely on the judge's impartiality.”
My worry in this case is that Dugan will be found guilty, and the judge will vacate the verdict. It would not surprise me one bit if that happens.
