Appeals court to hear DOJ defend Alina Habba's appointment as New Jersey's acting US attorney

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will on Monday hear the Justice Department defend Alina Habba's appointment as the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

The hearing follows a lower court's ruling in August that said Habba's appointment was made with a “novel series of legal and personnel moves” and that she was not lawfully serving as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann's order said that Habba's actions since July could be declared void, but he put his order on hold so the DOJ could appeal. Brann is an Obama appointee for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The DOJ argued in court filings that Habba is validly serving in the role under a federal statute that permits her to be the first assistant attorney.

The district court's ruling followed several people, who were charged with federal crimes in New Jersey, challenging the legality of Habba's appointment. The people suing sought to block the charges, arguing that Habba didn’t have the authority to prosecute their cases after the expiration of her 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney.

As Habba's temporary appointment expired in July, it became clear that New Jersey's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, would not back her appointment.

With Habba's appointment expiring, federal judges in New Jersey exercised their legal authority to replace her with a career prosecutor who had served as her second-in-command.

Attorney General Pam Bondi then fired the prosecutor and renamed Habba as acting U.S. attorney. The DOJ said the judges acted prematurely, and that President Trump had the authority to appoint his preferred candidate.

According to Brann’s ruling, the president’s appointments are still subject to the time limits and power-sharing rules detailed in federal law.