Every
seasoned
litigator
knows
sometimes
you
have
a
bad
day
in
court,
but
this
is
really,
really
bad.
Because
whatever
fresh
hell
is
currently
unfolding
inside
the
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office
for
the
District
of
New
Jersey,
where
the
vibes
are
so
rancid
that
a
federal
judge
literally
had
a
prosecutor
shown
the
door
mid-hearing,
is
off
the
charts.
At
a
sentencing
hearing
this
Monday,
Judge
Zahid
Quraishi
had
some
questions
about
the
utter
chaos
going
on
with
the
leadership
of
the
New
Jersey
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office.
Enter
Supervisory
AUSA
Mark
Coyne,
who
was
in
the
courtroom
to
support
another
prosecutor
but,
and
this
is
key,
had
not
filed
a
notice
of
appearance.
Quraishi
made
it
crystal
clear
that
Coyne
could
sit
there
and
pass
notes
like
a
middle
schooler
avoiding
eye
contact
during
algebra,
but
speaking
was
off-limits.
But
since
Above
the
Law
is
writing
about
it,
you
know
he
spoke
anyway.
You
see,
Judge
Quraishi
was
asking
about
the
role
of
Alina
Habba.
You’ll
recall
Habba
was
installed
as
interim
U.S.
Attorney
for
New
Jersey.
And
when
her
interim
appointment
expired,
the
court
declined
to
bless
any
effort
to
make
her
permanent
without
that
pesky
constitutional
step
known
as
Senate
confirmation.
The
Trump
admin’s
response?
What
if
we
just…
call
her
something
else?
And
made
her
Acting
U.S.
Attorney.
But
the
vibes-based
leadership
role
was
also
rejected
by
courts
that
determined
Habba
was
illegally
holding
the
position.
But
instead
of,
say,
appointing
someone
legally
and
going
through
that
Senate
approval
process,
the
powers
that
be
pivoted
to
what
can
only
be
described
as
a
three-raccoons-in-a-trench-coat
approach
to
governance,
installing
Philip
Lamparello,
Jordan
Fox,
and
Ari
Fontecchio
as
a
trio
that
is
now
collectively
running
the
office.
Which…
was
also
determined
to
be
illegal
by
Judge
Matthew
Brann,
sitting
by
appointment
from
the
Middle
District
of
Pennsylvania
(though
that
decision
was
stayed,
pending
appeal).
That
loaded
history
is
what
motivated
Coyne
to
speak,
despite
being
told
not
to.
And
the
judge
did
*not*
take
kindly
to
having
his
instructions
ignored.
“You
didn’t
file
a
notice
of
appearance.
You
don’t
get
to
blindside
the
court
and
do
whatever
it
is
you
guys
want
to
do,”
Quraishi
said.
“So
if
you
continue
to
speak,
you
can
leave.”
Not
taking
the
rebuke
with
grace,
Coyne
continued
speaking.
The
judge
then
called
for
security
and
instructed
Coyne
to
leave.
To
his
credit,
Coyne
eventually
took
the
hint
and
exited
without
needing
to
be
physically
escorted
out.
The
judge
didn’t
just
eject
Coyne,
but
he
made
clear
he
has
serious
concerns
about
the
legitimacy
of
the
people
running
the
office.
He
has
now
refused
to
proceed
with
sentencing
until
the
leadership
trio
appears
in
court
and
explains
themselves.
“They’re
going
to
answer
my
questions
about
who
is
running
the
office
and
how,”
Quraishi
said.
And
if
that
weren’t
enough,
Quraishi
delivered
a
line
that
should
make
every
career
prosecutor
in
New
Jersey
want
to
crawl
under
their
desks:
“Generations
of
Assistant
U.S.
Attorneys
had
built
the
goodwill
of
that
office
for
your
generation
to
destroy
it
within
a
year.”
Oof.
The
DOJ’s
response
to
the
debacle
is
a
typical
Trumpian
nonstatement,
saying
prosecutors
remain
empowered
to
“aggressively
enforce
our
nation’s
laws
and
keep
people
safe.”
You
know,
it’d
probably
be
easier
for
NJ
prosecutors
to
do
that
if
the
administration
would
actually
put
an
appointee
up
for
confirmation…
like
the
Constitution
requires.