A US appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as top federal prosecutor for New Jersey - a ruling likely to affect scores of criminal cases in the state.
The president handpicked Habba for the role of US attorney this year, but a district court rejected her nomination, so the Trump administration installed her in a role that allowed her to fill in on an acting basis.
The appellate judges found on Monday that this tactic, which bypassed confirmation by the US Senate, violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place, remarked Judge Michael Fisher in the ruling.
The BBC has contacted Habba's office, the White House, and the Department of Justice for comment.
In a joint statement, the lawyers who challenged Habba's authority asserted that this marks the first time an appeals court has ruled that President Trump cannot usurp longstanding statutory and constitutional processes to insert whomever he wants in these positions.
Habba joined Trump's legal team in 2021, and has since represented him in significant legal matters, including a hush-money case leading to Trump's conviction on multiple counts.
The ruling may necessitate the appointment of a new prosecutor for overseeing federal criminal cases in New Jersey, a decision arising from a case challenged by defendants who claimed the prosecutor's appointment was unlawful.
This is not the first instance of a Trump-appointed prosecutor facing legal challenges; similar decisions have been made against other appointees in recent weeks.
