Appeals court orders Flynn judge to defend actions, as legal scholars weigh in

Courts “do not simply do the bidding of the executive branch,” but instead have independent judicial authority, especially after a case has been fully prosecuted, a guilty plea entered and a sentence recommended, the brief argued. It said, “The separation of powers protects this Court’s authority to complete the resolution of this case, free from the interference of the Executive Branch.” Tribe’s co-signers include constitutional law scholars, the former law school deans of Harvard, Yale and the University of Chicago, and the president of Columbia University. Republican signers include George T. Conway III, the conservative lawyer and husband of the president’s White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway; Trevor Potter, former Federal Election Commission chairman; and Richard Painter, George W. Bush’s former chief White House ethics lawyer.

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