LA Times Column: How Jack Smith just called out Judge Aileen Cannon in the Trump classified records case

lettruthout@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 230 points – Column: How Jack Smith just called out Judge Aileen Cannon in the Trump classified records case
latimes.com

The Smith team then made its most important and aggressive move by noting that when judges have issued clearly erroneous jury instructions that doom prosecutions, “courts have permitted the government to obtain writs of mandamus.”

Even buried in a parenthetical as it is, the word “mandamus” jumps off the page as a threat to seek an extraordinary intervention by the appellate court. Smith has laid down the gauntlet, telling Cannon in no uncertain terms that if she doesn’t move to resolve Trump’s frivolous arguments well ahead of trial, he will bring a writ of mandamus to the 11th Circuit along with a motion to recuse her from the case. Providing this road map of his intentions puts Smith on firm footing to challenge the judge if she continues to dither.

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Writ of mandamus from Wikipedia

A writ of mandamus (/mænˈdeɪməs/; lit. ''we command'') is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, or to refrain from performing an act the law forbids it from doing. Writs of mandamus are usually used in situations where a government official has failed to act as legally required or has taken a legally prohibited action.[1] They cannot be issued to compel an authority to do something against the law. For example, it cannot be used to force a lower court to take a specific action on applications that have been made, but if the court refuses to rule one way or the other then a mandamus can be used to order the court to rule on the applications.

Appreciate the info...it's funny they have a special way to officially say "nah, fuck you, do your job."

Until AI is smart enough to preside over our courtrooms in a purely unbiased fashion (ha!), we’ll be stuck with shitty humans running our shitty legal systems.

Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Even if humans build a computer smarter than we are, the machines will still be a product of human minds.

Of course but the next generation will be of the computer’s minds. Evolution will continue long into the machine age.

Intelligent and moral are too separate things. Henry Kissinger was objectively intelligent He spoke several languages and conducted high level negotiations with world leaders. He also made the decision to bomb civilians in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

I thought we were talking about AI judges. They should be impartial and consider the facts, what has morals got to do with it?

You should read some of Kissinger's writings. He didn't kill all those people because he wanted to be a monster; he had a rational belief that killing millions in Asia would lead to long term peace. He was impartial and considered the facts.

Judges have to interpret the law and apply it. AI executive branch / military would apply to what you’re saying however.

AI would work along the parameters that are set by the biased humans that programmed it, so it would just be another layer of abstraction continuing the same systemic issues.

Yes obviously, which is why I laughed immediately after saying it.

She probably won't know what means and to stupid to look it up. Or she will ignore it.

I DECLARE MANDAMUS ON ALL OF CONGRESS. EXPECTO MANDAMUS.

Apropos, since presiding judge seems to be invoking Writ of Douchebaggery