A federal appeals court upheld a decision Monday finding Alina Habba is disqualified from serving as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the defendants who argued that her appointment was unlawful.
“Habba is not the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by virtue of her appointment as First Assistant U.S. Attorney because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office under the FVRA,” the court held. “Additionally, because Habba was nominated for the vacant U.S. Attorney position, the FVRA’s nomination bar prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney.”
A federal judge held Habba was disqualified in August and found her actions “may be declared void.”
When Habba’s initial 120-day temporary appointment expired in July, a panel of federal judges appointed her deputy to lead the New Jersey office. Attorney General Pam Bondi responded by removing the deputy and appointing Habba to her position, allowing Habba to assume the role of acting U.S. attorney.
U.S. Attorneys’ offices “are some of the most critical agencies in the Federal Government,” Judge D. Michael Fisher, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the court’s opinion.
“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” Fisher wrote in the court’s opinion. “Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced—yet the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability.”
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