The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up Special Counsel Jack Smith on his request for the justices to quickly consider if it will hear arguments on the critical question of presidential immunity, which is at the heart of Smith's federal criminal case against Donald Trump.
In a one-sentence order, the justices granted Smith's motion filed earlier in the day "to expedite consideration" of a petition for a writ of certiorari before taking up the substance of the case involving the former president.
By Dec. 20, the Supreme Court ordered the lawyers for the former president to respond in writing to Smith's 14-page petition, which raises the question of whether a former president is immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office, as well as whether an ex-president impeached by the House but acquitted in the Senate can also be charged with crimes.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against Trump earlier this month that he could not get Smith's charges dismissed on grounds of "presidential immunity" and by seeking to challenge the case on First Amendment Constitutional grounds.
Chutkan has scheduled the Trump federal trial in Washington, D.C., to begin with jury selection on March 4, 2024, though the timing is up in the air pending the outcome of legal battles that both sides have been preparing to get decided by the nation's highest court.
Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith appear in front of the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla. Trump: Brandon Bell/ Getty Images; Smith: SAUL LOEB/ Getty Images; Courthouse: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images
Trump last week appealed Chutkan's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and also asked for a motion to "stay," or pause, all of the proceedings in the case "pending the final resolution of his recently filed appeal."
Smith's team countered Trump with two separate filings on Monday. Rather than wait for the D.C. Circuit to give its opinion on the immunity matter, the special counsel's office jumped ahead with its petition for immediate review by the Supreme Court.
But Smith also did ask for an expedited review by the D.C.-based appellate court that can allow its criminal case to continue moving toward trial in March, all while awaiting word from the Supreme Court on the immunity question.
Late Monday, the clerk for the D.C. Circuit issued an order in response to Smith's request for an expedited review by ordering Trump's lawyers to file their briefs by 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, followed by Smith's reply due by 10 a.m. EST Thursday.
The D.C. Circuit also confirmed the names of the three judges who will consider the expedited appeal: Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush; and Judges J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, both appointees of President Joe Biden.