Former president Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case have asked a judge to let them appeal the indictment against them on First Amendment grounds.
On Monday, Trump filed a joint motion with 14 co-defendants asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to allow them to appeal his April 4 order in which he said the charges should not be tossed because the defendants’ “actions and statements” about the 2020 presidential election were not constitutionally protected.
In the Monday filing, Trump and the defendants argue that while the court held the indictment is not subject to dismissal, interlocutory appellate review of the defendants’ “vital constitutional protections,” is “both prudent and warranted.”
“President Trump and the other unjustly accused defendants have jointly filed a motion requesting the Court to grant a certificate of immediate review of its Order denying their pretrial First Amendment challenges,” Steve Sadow, attorney for Trump said in a statement.
JUDGE DENIES DONALD TRUMP’S MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES IN GEORGIA ELECTION CASE
“The motion powerfully expresses that the Indictment wrongfully criminalizes core political speech and expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. There is no democracy without robust and uninhibited freedom of expression. For these reasons among others, the Court’s Order is ripe for pretrial appellate review,” he said.
McAfee has 10 days from his April 4 order to decide whether or not to let the parties appeal. If he does, they will have 10 days from that order to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals or the Georgia Supreme Court.
An interlocutory appeal is an appeal of a non-final order issued during the course of litigation.
“Interlocutory appellate review is prudent because Defendants’ challenges, if successful, would bar virtually every count of the Indictment against virtually every Defendant. Resolution of these outcome determinative issues…
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