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Julia Johnson, Politics Reporter


NextImg:How Trump could try to delay March 4 trial date interfering with campaign trail


U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan scheduled a March 4 court date earlier this week for former President Donald Trump's federal 2020 election subversion trial, which is the day before Super Tuesday, when 15 state primaries and caucuses are held.

Trump said he plans to appeal this, even though trial schedules aren't subject to appeal. After the date was scheduled, Trump responded on Truth Social, vowing to appeal the trial calendar.

HALF OF MAJOR LITHIUM DEALS SINCE 2018 WERE MADE BY CHINESE FIRMS, STUDY SAYS

"Today a biased, Trump Hating Judge gave me only a two month extension, just what our corrupt government wanted, SUPER TUESDAY. I will APPEAL!" he wrote.

Legal experts, though, maintained that the court's trial schedule isn't a sufficient basis for a preverdict appeal. Additionally, Trump's lawyer John Lauro said the former president's defense team will follow her scheduling "as we must."

While there is not an understood basis for appeal in scheduling matters, here are a couple of ways legal experts say Trump could address the trial date.

Motion for Reconsideration

One thing Trump's legal team could do is file a motion for Chutkan to reconsider her decision, likely citing the amount of time before the trial and arguing it needs additional time to prepare adequately. The team had requested that the trial not take place until the spring of 2026, far after the 2024 election, making the case that the amount of discovery evidence warranted such a time frame to prepare.

However, legal scholars maintained that her decision in the scheduling and any future decision on a motion to reconsider aren't usually grounds for an appeal.

But this argument from Trump's team could set the stage for an appeal following a guilty verdict. It's possible that his legal team would claim the trial's scheduling violated Trump's right to meaningful legal representation, as it didn't have enough time to prepare. This is something Lauro argued on Monday, telling Chutkan that requiring the legal team to prepare for a March 4 trial would deny Trump effective assistance of counsel.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Writ of Mandamus

A writ of mandamus, which is not an appeal, is an order from a higher judicial entity to a lower court, mandating certain action or confining the court to lawful exercise. According to the Department of Justice, this remedy is considered extraordinary and "should only be used in exceptional circumstances of peculiar emergency or public importance." What the writ serves to do is prompt a review of a judge's actions in a decision and is understood to be similar to an adversary proceeding, during which a neutral third party resolves a dispute.

The extraordinary circumstances that tend to warrant such an action are when a judge is alleged to have made a mistake that will cause significant harm to the defendant, to such an extent that it cannot wait until post-trial to file an appeal. To make such a makeshift pretrial appeal, Trump's team could file a mandamus petition to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or the Supreme Court. Trump is responsible for appointing three of the high court's conservative justices.