Smith petitioned the Court on Dec. 11 to issue a ruling on whether Trump has immunity from prosecution over charges stemming from alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president’s legal team has argued that Trump is shielded from the charges Smith is bringing because of constitutional protections for speech and against double jeopardy. Trump’s lawyers say he cannot be re-prosecuted for actions he was already tried for through the impeachment process, noting that the U.S. Constitution says presidents who were both impeached and removed from office could later be charged by “indictment, trial, judgment and punishment.” The language, according to the defense attorneys, “presupposes that a president who is not convicted may not be subject to criminal prosecution” and though Trump was impeached by the U.S. House, he was acquitted — not convicted — by the U.S. Senate. “The Constitution’s plain text, structural principles of separation of powers, our history and tradition, and principles of double jeopardy bar the executive branch from seeking to re-charge and re-try a president who has already been impeached and acquitted in a trial before the U.S. Senate,” Trump’s defense team has maintained. Trump’s defense team has appealed a ruling by a district court stating that he is not protected by immunity. His lawyers have appealed the decision, but going through the appeals process suspends current legal proceedings and would result in pushing back the March 4 trial date set for the case. Critics say Smith is only adamant about keeping the March 4 trial date because he wants to try and convict Trump before next year’s election. Smith told the Court’s nine justices in a legal filing that they should agree to hear the case and circumvent the appeals process because this is a matter of “imperative public importance.” “If appellate review of the decision below were to proceed through the ordinary process in the court of appeals, the pace of review may not result in a final decision for many months; even if the decision arrives sooner, the timing of such a decision might prevent this Court from hearing and deciding the case this Term,” the prosecution team said. Shortly after the filing, the Supreme Court issued a one-sentence response, granting the motion to expedite consideration of a hearing. The Court ordered Trump’s defense team to file a response to the petition by 4 p.m. on Dec. 20.The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether to weigh-in on a motion filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith to fast-track a criminal case against former President Donald Trump.
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