Why is Judge Aileen Cannon criticized in the Trump secret documents case?

A Florida judge presiding over a case involving former President Donald Trump’s secret documents has ordered three days of hearings — including on an unusual legal argument raised by Trump — starting Friday morning.

The hearings come as federal District Court Judge Aileen Cannon comes under scrutiny after The New York Times reported Thursday that she rejected suggestions from two other judges, including her district’s chief judge, that she step down when this was the first time she had been assigned this case.

Cannon is already facing criticism for indefinitely postponing the trial, which effectively means a verdict in the case will not be announced before the November election.

Here’s what you need to know about Cannon:

Who is Judge Aileen Cannon?

Cannon is an American lawyer and has served as a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida since 2020.

After graduating from Duke University in 2003, she attended the University of Michigan Law School. She clerked for a judge in Iowa from 2009 to 2012 before joining the leading law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.

Cannon landed a job as a federal prosecutor in 2013 in the Southern District of Florida. She remained there until 2020, working in the Major Crimes Unit, after which she was transferred to the Appellate Division, where she focused on sentencing and convictions.

More: Trump’s Florida secret documents case prepares for 3 days of hearings | Fragment

Why do some people think Judge Cannon is corrupt?

Cannon has been criticized for delaying the trial, all but guaranteeing it won’t happen before the November election. If Trump wins and returns to the White House, he could order the Justice Department to drop the case.

Opponents of the former president also criticized a previous decision that helped Trump and was made by Cannon during a criminal investigation. Cannon temporarily prevented investigators from examining the seized documents while a special examiner considered Trump’s claims that the documents were confidential.

But her decision was overturned by a panel of appellate judges, all of whom were appointed by Republican presidents.

Fellow judges, including Southern District of Florida Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga, immediately called Cannon and suggested she step down.

Who appointed Judge Cannon?

Late in his presidency, Trump nominated and appointed Cannon as a federal judge after the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed the decision in November 2020.

As a federal judge, she presided over four criminal trials before taking on the Trump secret documents case in 2022.

More: Court records reveal new details of alleged obstruction involving Trump’s secret documents

Can Judge Cannon be removed?

Either side can request that Cannon be removed from the case – although it is unlikely that Trump’s lawyers will agree to this.

According to NBC News, special counsel Jack Smith could make such a request, but experts say Cannon’s actions so far do not necessarily merit this move.

Judges may be removed from a case for reasons including a conflict of interest that prevents them from remaining impartial or illegal conduct.

Contributors: Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge in Trump secret documents case stirs controversy