Judicial Notice (09.10.22): Weird, Wild Stuff

A Second Circuit opinion's unorthodox 'addendum,' more on the Mar-a-Lago mess, and other legal news from the week that was.

Judge Aileen M. Cannon (public domain)

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This week was another rough one for me. I experienced significant pain while recovering from last week’s surgery, and on Wednesday, after concerning blood-test results that suggested possible complications, I returned to the emergency room. Additional tests revealed that everything was basically fine, and I went home after a night of observation. But even though everyone at Morristown Medical Center was very kind on my return visit, I’d rather not see them again for a while.

Because I was in the hospital on the day we were supposed to record, I couldn’t tape a new episode of Movers, Shakers, and Rainmakers. But after I got home, I was able to speak with Michel Martin of NPR’s “All Things Considered” about President Biden’s judicial nominations, and I thank her for having me.

The top news story of the week was the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, may she rest in peace, and her replacement by King Charles III. Although not a legal story, it will involve terminology changes for the U.K. legal profession: the prestigious, Crown-conferred title of “Queen’s Counsel” is now “King’s Counsel,” and Crown prosecutions will be captioned “Rex v.” rather than “Regina v.” going forward.

Returning to this side of the pond, let’s check out the (very busy) week in legal news.

Lawyers of the Week: Barbara S. Jones, Thomas B. Griffith, and Paul Huck Jr.

On Friday, lawyers for former president Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) sent an eight-page joint filing to Judge Aileen Cannon (S.D. Fla.), outlining their positions on the appointment of a special master to review documents seized during the August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. In news that should surprise no one, they didn’t agree on much—including who should serve as special master.

The government proposed two ex-judges: S.D.N.Y. judge turned Bracewell partner Barbara Jones, who previously served as special master in cases involving Trump attorneys Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani; and former D.C. Circuit judge Thomas Griffith, who stepped down in 2020 and is now special counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth. As highly regarded former judges who are not known as partisans, Jones and Griffith are excellent picks. They were appointed by presidents of different parties, President Bill Clinton for Jones and President George W. Bush for Griffith, giving Team Trump a choice of a Democratic or Republican appointee.

Alas, the Trump camp passed on the government’s suggestions and proposed two candidates of its own: former inactive E.D.N.Y. judge and former U.S. attorney Raymond Dearie, who served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court when on the bench, and Paul Huck, former deputy attorney general for Florida and general counsel to then-governor Charlie Crist (a Republican at the time). Judge Dearie is a reasonable pick, but Huck is more problematic—not because of any shortcomings in his credentials, but because of his deep ties to conservative and Republican Florida legal circles. He’s married to Judge Barbara Lagoa (11th Cir.)—one of Trump’s Supreme Court shortlisters, as well as a judge on the court that would hear any appeal in this case—and as noted by Kyle Cheney of Politico, Huck also served at a high level in the Crist Administration alongside former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise, now representing Trump in L’Affaire Mar-a-Lago. [UPDATE (12:37 p.m.): Edited to reflect that Judge Dearie is actually still a judge, just in inactive status.]

So Huck should be a non-starter. But I could easily see Judge Cannon appointing one of the three former judges, and any of the three would be fine in the role.

In happier news, congratulations to the 188 lawyers who were just named as Law360’s 2022 MVPs. Here’s the full list if you’d like to check it out.

In memoriam: Gabrielle Hanna, a midlevel litigation associate in the Seattle office of Cooley, was one of 10 victims in a floatplane crash that took place north of Seattle over the Labor Day weekend. She was only 29. May she rest in peace.

Judges of the Week: Judges Pierre N. Leval and Michael H. Park.