Judicial Review · Constitutional Law · Government·December 1, 2022
Judge Cannon appointed special master to slow Mar-a-Lago probe, then 11th Circuit reversed her
Judge Aileen Cannon appointed retired federal Judge Raymond Dearie as a special master in September 2022 to screen 11,000 documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago, halting the government's criminal investigation — until three 11th Circuit judges, two of them Trump appointees, unanimously reversed her in December 2022
The FBI seized more than 11,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022, including 103 classified records
Cannon appointed Raymond Dearie as on September 5, 2022, halting the criminal investigation
Cannon barred the DOJ from using the seized documents in its criminal probe while the review was underway
The 11th Circuit reversed Cannon unanimously on December 1, 2022, in a per curiam opinion
Two of the three 11th Circuit judges who reversed Cannon — Grant and Brasher — were themselves Trump appointees
The court held that Cannon had improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction by letting a civil lawsuit interfere with a criminal investigation
Cannon's case never reached trial; she dismissed it on July 15, 2024 — more than two years after the FBI search
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