Overview
- U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that the three-person leadership structure violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and exceeded the attorney general’s authority.
- The disqualified officials are Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox and Ari Fontecchio, whom Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped to divide duties after Alina Habba resigned.
- Brann’s 130-page opinion warns that continued unlawful appointments could prompt dismissals of pending cases and risk reversals of convictions.
- The order is stayed pending appeal, so the trio may continue temporarily while higher courts review the case.
- The decision follows earlier rulings that Habba’s tenure was unlawful, affirmed by the Third Circuit, and comes as other districts confront similar appointment disputes in New York, Virginia, California and Nevada.