The Daily Fuckup

The Supreme Court on Dec. 22, 2023, turned down Donald Trump’s bid to leapfrog the normal appellate process in his Jan. 6 federal case. In a one-line order, the court denied his petition for certiorari before judgment, meaning it would not hear the immunity dispute before the D.C. Circuit ruled first. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/122223zr_3e04.pdf))

That left the former president’s immunity appeal right where it had been: in the D.C. Circuit, on a schedule that was already set. The appeals court had ordered oral argument for Jan. 9, 2024, in United States v. Trump. ([media.cadc.uscourts.gov](https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/orders/docs/2023/12/23-3228CCMN.pdf))

The Supreme Court’s action did not decide whether Trump can claim immunity from prosecution, and it did not end the criminal case. It simply declined to intervene before the lower court finished its work, keeping the constitutional question alive for the appeals court to resolve first. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/122223zr_3e04.pdf))

The practical effect was delay, not a win on the merits. Trump still had to fight the immunity issue in the D.C. Circuit, and the district court case remained tied to that appeal while the courts sorted out whether the prosecution could move forward. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/122223zr_3e04.pdf))