In a recent development that has been seen as a blow to Fulton County District Attorney (DA) Fani Willis, the Georgia Court of Appeals has put a halt to a case involving a co-defendant of Donald Trump.
This decision is pending Trump's appeal to disqualify Willis from the case, according to Newsweek.
Misty Hampton, the former Coffee County elections director, is among the 19 individuals, including Trump, who are accused of plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Georgia. All the co-defendants have refuted the charges, with the exception of four who have accepted a plea deal.
In a reversal of Judge Scott McAfee's earlier decision this month, the Appeals Court has decided to suspend the case against Hampton until the resolution of other appeals. McAfee had previously dismissed Hampton's request for a suspension of her case.
This decision follows an Appeals Court order from June 5, which indefinitely halted trial proceedings against Trump and other co-defendants during their appeal against Judge McAfee's March decision to allow Willis to remain on the case.
In a bid to disqualify Willis and her team and have the charges against them dismissed, some of the defendants, including Trump, had argued that a personal relationship between Willis and her lead prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest. Willis and Wade acknowledged their relationship but denied any personal gain from it.
Judge McAfee, who is overseeing the election interference case, ruled that the defense's evidence was "legally insufficient" to establish a conflict of interest. However, he noted the presence of "the appearance of impropriety." He suggested that Willis and her office should either step aside and allow another district attorney to take over the case, or Wade should withdraw himself from the case. Following McAfee's decision, Wade resigned.
Trump and nine co-defendants appealed the ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the case. Although Hampton was not part of the motion to remove Willis, she requested a suspension of her case after the Appeals Court paused proceedings against the co-defendants who were part of the motion.
The Appeals Court's decision to suspend Hampton's case is a setback for Willis, who had planned to proceed with prosecutions against six of the co-defendants, including Hampton, who were not part of the motion to remove her.
This order opens a legal pathway for the remaining five co-defendants to request a suspension of their cases pending appeal. This could potentially result in all 15 remaining cases against the co-defendants becoming mired in pretrial proceedings, thereby prolonging the timeline before any trial can commence.
An appeals panel has tentatively set October 4 as the date to consider Willis' disqualification. Following its decision, the losing side could appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, making it highly unlikely that Trump will stand trial before the November 5 election.
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