The judge in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming trial over his handling of classified documents made two key errors in a June trial, one of which violated a fundamental constitutional right of the defendant and could have invalidated the proceedings, according to legal experts and a court transcript.

  • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Cannon, a 42-year-old former federal prosecutor appointed by Trump to the bench in 2020 late in his presidency, also neglected to swear in the prospective jury pool - an obligatory procedure in which people who may serve on the panel pledge to tell the truth during the selection process. This error forced Cannon to re-start jury selection before the trial ended abruptly with defendant William Spearman pleading guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

    Cannon’s decision to close the courtroom represents “a fundamental constitutional error,” said Stephen Smith, a professor at the Santa Clara School of Law in California. “She ignored the public trial right entirely. It’s as though she didn’t know it existed.”

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    When people like Trump get off the hook because of judicial incompetence, people are going to look outside the justice system for their justice. It’s not a good thing. We should be doing things right.

    • new_acct_who_dis@lemmy.world
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      It’s the Trump supporters that are frothing at the mouth for any reason to shoot someone.

      Trump is probably safe from vigilante justice

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    Imagine that… a trump worshipping minion put in place for his benefit only- managed to benefit him.

    Color me surprised!

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    Does this mean that every person that’s ever opposed Trump or found unfavorably against him is going to have everything in their career examined through the lens of Donald Trump being persecuted by them?

    It’s not good What this judge did to deny someone their public trial and failing to swear in the jury is just stupid. I don’t see how it relates to Trump or even indirectly is affected by him.

    • PeleSpirit@lemmy.world
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      It means it will be drawn out on technicalities, she’s throwing herself under the bus for him.

    • stallmer@lemmy.one
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      It’s an example of her incompetence and lack of understanding of basic tenets of a jury trial in the lead up to a highly visible and important case in which Trump is the defendant.

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    Not defending her, she was a Trump appointee, but this is the media trying to make her look bad. They’re implying that she will screw up the Trump trial. They can’t know that. It’s like me implying that Microwave will get a cavity because he forgot to brush his teeth one day.

    Also; take care of your teeth. Floss. They’ll thank you when you’re older.

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      “Trying to make her look bad” by explaining a time she deprived people of Constitutional rights in her court room, and made dumb mistakes like not swearing in a jury.

      She just looks bad, factually.

      The author can’t “know” that she will make a mistake and that’s why they didn’t claim that. But when you put someone in charge of an extremely important case, it just is relevant if they have made bad mistakes in the past. The potential for errors and illegal, unconstitutional actions, are higher when the person has done it before. That is newsworthy.

      • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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        I’m not concern trolling. My criticism is of what the media chooses to focus on. Why not write about how the appointment system is flawed and she should have never been appointed? They don’t because that’s tedious and doesn’t scratch that tribalism itch. Everything is newsworthy. It’s what they choose to cover, or not cover that bothers me.

              • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                That was a joke. But you just assumed the worst. This is my style. Give up the hate. It serves the corporate interests. Not yours. I’m tired of defending myself to people that can’t think themselves out of this capitalist hellhole.

                • SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world
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                  You mentioned George Soros out of the blue, I figured Murdoch would be better for your ‘just asking questions’ kind of style.

                  Thanks for assuming you know everything about me because of a couple comments.

                  We could all do well to emulate your extreme open mindedness and ability to think critically.

        • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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          Where is all this hate coming from when almost everyone on both sides of the political ecosystem agrees that the mainstream media ecosystem is flawed. It is just rank tribalism to ignore the blatant propaganda when it is coming from your side of the camp. This guy @TokenBoomer is one of the most reasonable people I have interacted with on social media in ages, and has consistently provided well positioned evaluations of complex issues as they relate to politics and specifically the Trump saga. Just blanket downvoting someone because you are prescribing a position to someone without actually taking the time to understand the nuance of their criticism is how people continue to be divided, and subsequently more radicalized.

          We should be aiming to provide a better architecture for high level political discussion on Lemmy in my personal opinion. A large part of why I left the Reddit bubble was because of this exact kind of behavior from the hivemind. Anyone that didn’t participate in the “two minutes hate” or levied well founded criticism against the neo-liberal news aggregators was just instantly brigaded as a way to garner cool points from the algorithm. We should aim to be better, and learn from past mistakes.

          If any of you had taken the time to evaluate the other comments this guys has posted, and listened to his views it should be clear that he is not some centrist sycophant or debate pervert engaging in constant whataboutisms. There is ample, justifiable criticism of the neo-liberal corporate news media even if it is not as blatant or psychotic as Fox News et al. If you cannot see that then are you really even a progressive? So many of us have turned our backs on corporate media (and rightly so) in favor of the new media ecosystem through YouTube, but then when they pass judgement against things you don’t like to suit their own ends are you falling into their trap by giving them clicks and driving engagement?

          Let’s evaluate this article as a microcosm of this more generalized problem:

          • Is there a prescriptive judgement or directed narrative being pushed here? I would argue that, yes, there absolutely is, and it is obvious. That does not undermine the validity of the criticism, or mean that we should ignore it. That also is not what this guy was suggesting if you read his comments thoroughly. It does, however, mean that we should be aware of our own implicit personal biases so that we can tell when legitimate criticism is being coopted to justify a pre-determinant outcome.

          • Is it going to help the procession of this case by pre-emptively painting this judge as a patsy who you KNOW is going to fall on her sword to save Trump? I don’t think so, and I would argue that engaging with that rhetoric makes that outcome MORE LIKELY. This is a human being that is not immune to the criticism, and vitriol that may be levied against her. She may earn that hatred, but we should let her earn it rather than intentionally painting her into a corner where she feels uniquely justified in subverting democracy in retaliation against the monolithic corporate oligopoly that is mainstream media. As someone smarter than me once said, “We judge others by their actions, and ourselves by our intentions”.

          • Is there a better way to engage with our own biases that is more likely to lead to a fair, and equitable outcome? This is what we should be striving for because it will paint a more stark, sobering, and lasting outcome that may win over the minds of people on both sides of the issue who may otherwise have painted this as theatrics in a kangaroo court. Let them eat bread…and whatnot. Imagine for a moment if there was a groundswell of SUPPORT for this judge that aimed to humanize her, and made her see the value in her work. Do you think that would ultimately lead her to take this entire process more seriously, with a more measured approach, therefore putting her in the best possible position to take her duty seriously in upholding the spirit and letter of the law? Put yourself in the other persons shoes for a moment, and evaluate what kinds of actions from the outside world would make you the most likely to carry out your duties in a professional and dispassionate fashion. By standing on our own moral high ground we separate and alienate ourselves from engaging with the system we claim to wish to preserve.

          This is just some food for thought from someone that wishes to continue to see the kind of spirited engagement around complex issues that move our species forward. No man is an island. If we wish to be the change we want to see in the world that requires engaging with concepts or ideas that we may find uncomfortable while being able to debate honestly about the issues. The only way to change the perspective of another is by being able to intellectualize their arguments with them, while coming alongside them as they follow the path to questioning their firmly held beliefs. The minute they trigger their own cognitive dissonance without the moral support of someone who is willing to help them self-actualize honestly they will retreat back into their same echo-chambers, and comfortable patterns of behavior because there is safety in numbers. This is an ingrained evolutionary behavioral mechanism that we all must learn our way out of, and it is scary to do that for the unwashed masses who may never have been exposed to the kind of free-thinking intellectualism that many of us take for granted.

          I hope someone finds some value in this, but if not at least I did my part to help elucidate some important ideals that I think bring value to the framework of discussion on this platform.

          • SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world
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            we should let her earn it rather than intentionally painting her into a corner where she feels uniquely justified in subverting democracy in retaliation against the monolithic corporate oligopoly that is mainstream media

            Are you suggesting that a judge might get mad that the media is pointing out that she made mistakes on an earlier trial so she’ll feel its okay to ‘subvert democracy in retaliation’?

            • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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              Are you suggesting that a judge might get mad that the media is pointing out that she made mistakes on an earlier trial so she’ll feel its okay to ‘subvert democracy in retaliation’?

              I am pointing out that humans are fallible, susceptible to negative feedback loops, and that it is in the best interest of our species to accept that as the inherent reality regardless of someone’s title or position. I am not justifying the behavior, but I firmly believe that the more you push that kind of narrative the more likely it is that it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

                • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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                  No, that is not what I am saying at all. The importance her decisions have in this case as well as to the public interest are self-evident, and therefore should be reported. What I am suggesting is that there is very dangerous subtext surrounding framing her as an incompetent hack if it pre-emptively undermines the validity of her rulings both for or against the defendant. Both sides are looking to throw her under the bus at a moments notice no matter what she does, and threading that needle would be a challenge for someone with ten times her experience or tenure. The narrative foreshadowing has been quite clear in this regard, and I think we all ignore that to our own peril regardless of what side of the issue you fall on.

                  Let me put it to you this way: she already knows that when she rules against Trump she will be met with very real threats of violence, conversely Trump’s opposition will attempt to paint her as a traitor or patsy when she rules in his favor. It is a lose/lose proposition being reinforced by a zero sum game.

                  Again, this is a human being, and human beings are fallible. While it is easy or convenient to suggest that every single person who accepts a legal appointment should act as the perfect visage for the judicial system by being totally dispassionate, acting with complete impunity in upholding the letter of the law, and separating themselves from their humanity in the process that just isn’t realistic. Therefore, a better framework would be to attempt to influence or taint the outcome of this proceeding as little as possible while allowing the legal system to function without also combating the court of public opinion. This is also not realistic, I grant you that, but adding fuel to the fire doesn’t help.

                  Instead, I believe the ethically justifiable position is not to feed into the media sophistry, and instead to engage with the decisions in this case solely based on their merits. This is admittedly difficult to accomplish considering most of us are not legal scholars, but it should be the goal. In doing so we can continue to bring awareness to the fact that in the real world, even in the legal arena, there are rarely issues that can be perfectly distilled down into the kind of binary black & white positions that are attractive to our evolutionary programming.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            Yeah, what he said! Thanks for the kind words. I don’t know what a debate pervert is, but it sounds exciting. Also, that just made me feel dumb. I wish I was able to illuminate my intent as well as you did. But I’m on my phone, and my fingers are fat.

            • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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              I don’t think you’re dumb. I have appreciated all of the commentary I have seen from you, and that is why I posted what I did. I was trying to riff on what you said to provide some additional depth.

              Unfortunately we both fell into the trap of trying to engage with individuals who weren’t interested in civil discussion. I have had such positive experiences on Lemmy so far that I momentarily forgot this is still the internet 😂

    • archiotterpup@lemmy.world
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      She’s already been rebuked by a conservative appeals court. It’s not the media making her look bad. They just followed the stories she created.

      • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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        Don’t put too much faith in the media. Even if you agree with it. The media always has an agenda.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            Exactly. This article is appealing to your hate for a Trump appointee who shouldn’t be in this position. What information are you getting that you didn’t already know. She’s a bad judge. Period. But by angering readers they create clicks and get eyeballs. $. I’m not saying it’s not news and you shouldn’t pay attention. I’m just trying to make people more aware of how they interact with the news.

            • archiotterpup@lemmy.world
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              The enlightened centrism is suffocating.

              The article is driving traffic. That doesn’t change the fact she fucked up her job.

              You’re just muddying the waters by shifting the discussion away from her actions to how they’re reported.

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                The enlightened centrism is suffocating.

                Look at my post history.

                The article is driving traffic. That doesn’t change the fact she fucked up her job.

                True.

                You’re just muddying the waters by shifting the discussion away from her actions to how they’re reported.

                I am criticizing the media. It’s sad that you don’t have the ability to understand that media influences you. And when someone points it out, your reaction is to shit on them for trying to make you aware. And I’m the bad guy?

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                  Your post history does not matter. And I can even agree with you on the media in general. But that really doesn’t matter in this case. Canon should not be a judge in any court. The same could be said for many others. But they’re coverage and characterization of Canon is important with regards to this historic and important case that she will be overseeing. Likely to all of our deficit. Immediate and everyone is right to raise a stink about her. She’s already shown that she cannot be fair impartial or deliver Justice. Regardless of whether or not we agree with the media.

                • ddh@lemmy.sdf.org
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                  OK so what’s your point here then, about the facts regarding Aileen Cannon? Are you actually arguing any points or just making ad hominem attacks?

    • fabian@lemmy.world
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      You’re right, she might do a good job, and I sincerely hope she does.

      I think lack of experiece and poor performance in the past is a good indicator that she’s likely to do a bad job in the future.

      Why does it matter if “the media” is trying to make her look bad? There’s no election, the choice has been made. The point of this article is to provide information about her past performance, specifically because she has already been rebuked by a higher court for what they considered to be poor reasoning and lack of understanding of the case and because it is going to be such a prominent and complex case with so much riding on it.

        • fabian@lemmy.world
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          Thank you. I hope I didn’t come across as aggressive, and I genuinely appreciate your concern for our collective teeth.

          • TokenBoomer@lemmy.world
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            No, be aggressive. Push back against incorrect statements. It’s the only way to fix this shit. I worked in News and saw how the sausage is made. I don’t want to rant, but the whole news business is “off” because of profit. They’re supposed to be informing people, not appealing to emotions.