After 3rd Circuit ruling, DOJ taps trio to oversee New Jersey office; Habba named Bondi senior adviser

📌 Key Facts

• The Third Circuit unanimously ruled that Alina Habba’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey was unlawful and explicitly disqualified her from supervising cases under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act after a challenge by three criminal defendants who sought dismissal of their indictments.
• A three-judge panel—Judges D. Michael Fisher (opinion author), D. Brooks Smith and Luis Felipe Restrepo (two Republican appointees and one Democratic appointee)—issued a 32‑page opinion criticizing the administration’s appointment maneuvers as effectively permitting indefinite temporary fills and saying New Jersey citizens and DOJ employees “deserve some clarity and stability.”
• A lower court (U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann) had ruled in August that Habba had been serving without lawful authority since early July and ordered her disqualified from ongoing cases, though that order was stayed pending appeal; oral arguments in the appeal occurred Oct. 20 in Philadelphia.
• The prolonged legal fight has stalled many New Jersey federal cases and created systemwide disruption; courts have recently rejected similar interim-appointment practices in other districts (including disputes in Nevada, California and the Eastern District of Virginia, which led to dismissals tied to unlawfully appointed interim U.S. attorneys).
• On Dec. 8 Habba resigned as U.S. attorney but will remain at DOJ as Attorney General Pam Bondi’s senior adviser overseeing U.S. attorneys; Bondi said she accepted the resignation and that DOJ will seek further review, expressing confidence the ruling will be reversed and that Habba could return if successful.
• DOJ delegated responsibility for running the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office to three prosecutors—Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio—with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying he has full confidence in them.
• Bondi sharply criticized the Third Circuit decision as reflecting “politicized judges,” said the ruling made Habba’s role untenable by pausing trials, and vowed to continue appeals; Habba posted a defiant statement on social media — “Do not mistake compliance for surrender… This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me.”
• Background context: when Habba’s interim term expired the district court had appointed career prosecutor Desiree Grace, whom AG Bondi subsequently removed — an episode cited in coverage of the broader appointment conflicts.

📰 Sources (9)