Jerry Summers
The recent ruling by the presiding trial judge in the Florida federal court proceedings of ex-President Donald Trump in the criminal trial now set for August 14 is reflective.
Of course this may just be a tentative procedural ruling to technically comply with the largely abandoned Speedy Trial rule and the case will probably be further delayed.
Traditionally lawyers on both sides will argue that, because of the massive scope of the investigation, thousands of involved documents need for experts, etc. a new trial date could be set on a later date. However, the late federal district judge from Knoxville, Robert L. Taylor (1899-1987), who preceded the respected Frank W. Wilson of Oak Ridge-Chattanooga, had a way to cut through the legal delays and tell the lawyers to “get ready for trial”.
Judge Robert L Taylor was appointed by President Harry S. Truman and served from 1946 until 1985. His method of moving cases forward at a fast pace and his lack of patience towards slow moving lawyers was described by some trial participants (after his death) as having “endured his wrath.”
The late Court of Appeals Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr. summed up his experience with Judge Taylor in an article in the Tennessee Bar Journal in May 2009, Volume 45 No. 5 by lawyer and author Don Paine. Whether the federal judge in the Mar-A-Lago documents trial will hold the prosecution and defense lawyers feet to the proverbial fire and start the trial on August 14, 2023 is pure speculation.
Whatever decision they make as to start the trial on that date will be politicized by the talk shows on the far left and far right with numerous legal experts informing the viewing public of their predictions on a daily (or hourly) basis!
(Judge Robert L. Taylor would make certain that a defendants’ speedy trial rights were protected although the legal teams might differ with his methods.)
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You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com