Overview

• Chief Judge Matthew Brann concluded Habba has lacked lawful authority to lead the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office since July and ordered her disqualified from ongoing matters.
• The ruling bars Habba from participating in or supervising the prosecutions of Julien Giraud Jr., Julien Giraud III, and Cesar Humberto Pina, though their indictments were not dismissed.
• Brann stayed his order to allow an appeal, leaving Habba in place for now as the Justice Department is expected to seek review in the Third Circuit.
• The court found the administration’s use of the Vacancies Reform Act and personnel moves—firing judges’ pick Desiree Leigh Grace and designating Habba as first assistant—to be unlawful.
• The case was assigned to Brann after New Jersey’s federal judges declined to extend Habba’s interim term, and the ruling raises broader questions for other districts where similar tactics were used.