Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) opposing Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s petition that requested SCOTUS take up former President Donald Trump’s appeal for presidential immunity before a lower appeals court considers the issue.
Smith’s effort to circumvent the standard appellate process is extraordinarily unusual. To elevate the petition to SCOTUS before a lower court has considered the issue, the petitioner must show a clear public need for immediate action. Smith, representing the United States government, has not demonstrated the urgency he claims justifies this attempt to bypass the ordinary appellate process.
The brief explains: “The United States’ petition repeatedly proclaims—but never explains why—‘[i]t is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected.’ That silence is both telling and troubling, suggesting that the United States’ demand for extraordinary and immediate relief is driven by partisan interests, not the public interest.”
To read the brief, click here.