That will be the all-important question for the courts following this Supreme Court hearing.
With the justices appearing during oral arguments to congeal around the need to sketch out the lines of protection around the presidency for official acts, the high court seems poised to direct lower courts to work on the issues in the Trump federal criminal case around January 6, 2021, more.
But that could go in several directions. It could mean District Judge Tanya Chutkan makes decisions following this Supreme Court case opinion, and moves Trump quickly to trial, potentially even before the election. Another possibility is the Supreme Court’s decision could set up a process for a trial potentially months from now, after additional appeals court reviews — and, as Trump hopes, delays.
Not every legal question in a criminal case can be appealed before trial, and most questions could not delay a jury from hearing a case.
Presidential immunity is one of the rare questions the courts need to figure out before a trial. (The other relates to double jeopardy issues.)
In this case, if the justices send Trump back down to the trial court helmed by Chutkan, she may need to work out if the allegations in the indictment fall under official acts of the presidency or not.
Theoretically, Trump could then potentially appeal a decision. But for another round of appeals to be helpful to his delay strategy, Trump would need to convince appellate judges — perhaps at both the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court — to put an emergency hold on his trial to prevent it from taking place. He may also need to convince the appeals courts they have the ability — called jurisdiction — to hear the legal questions again before a trial.
There are many ways this could go and every step could be a nail-biter for timing, from the Supreme Court decision in this case on.
