Today, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hold oral arguments on Donald Trump’s appeal of the decision that he is not immune from criminal prosecution for the events of January 6.  Apparently, the accused intends to personally attend this argument.  (For the reasons discussed below, his attorneys are likely unhappy with the decision and Trump may throw a temper tantrum either during or after the argument.)  For the millions who are unable to make it to the federal courthouse, the D.C. Circuit will be livestreaming the audio of the argument.  And the recording will posted on the court’s website by the close of business today.

I am not going to spend time on the merits of the case because the merits are really one-sided.  The trial judge in this case is respected by her peers and her order thoroughly demonstrates why Trump’s claim of immunity has no factual or legal merit.  It will be affirmed.  Instead, this post is intended to help readers understand what will be happening.

The first thing to understand is that oral argument is the last part of the case.  Even at the state level, it is expected that the judges will have read the written arguments (formally known as briefs of the party).  If the judges have the time, they may also have looked at the relevant portions of the trial court records to answer any factual questions that they may have about the proceeding.  They may also have looked at the key cases cited by the parties to understand what those cases actually say (instead of how the attorneys have tried to spin them).  In short, the judges have almost certainly formed an opinion about the issues in the case, and oral argument is a last chance for the parties to correct any misimpressions that they judges may have. Continue Reading...