'Are we sure she went to law school?' Attorneys mock Trump lawyer for 'due process' remark

16 April 2024

Alina Habba, who is one of former President Donald Trump's New York-based attorneys, is getting roasted by lawyers and legal experts over her latest remarks on Fox News alleging her client isn't being afforded due process.

In a nutshell, "due process" is the legal term for the set of rights afforded to criminal and civil defendants mentioned in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. This includes everything from the right to question witnesses, screen jurors, be presumed innocent until proven guilty and be granted a fair and impartial ruling, among others. In a recent interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Habba alleged that Judge Juan Merchan was depriving her client of those rights by refusing to let him attend oral arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States' (SCOTUS) chambers next week.

"Not even allowing a person due process, the right to go sit in front of the Supreme Court and hear a case that determines many lawsuits that are currently against President Trump on immunity, on grounds for immunity," she said.

In a criminal proceeding, a defendant's attendance is almost always required except in extraordinary circumstances, whereas a petitioner's attendance during SCOTUS oral arguments is not. Legal experts reacting to Habba's remarks on social media doubted her knowledge of basic law concepts.

"One would hope a lawyer would know that due process does not include attending an oral argument at the United States Supreme Court," Georgia-based law professor Anthony Michael Kreis tweeted.

Dianne Callahan, who is a student at Emory University Law School, echoed that sentiment, tweeting that she was "having second thoughts about this woman being an actual attorney."

"[Habba] should reread the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause," Callahan wrote. "Trump is not being deprived of a protected life, liberty, or property interest."

Progressive influencer Ron Filipkowski — who is also a former federal and state prosecutor — quote-tweeted the video and told his followers, "that is not what due process means. Are we sure she went to law school? That's taught like week one."

"Watching an oral argument isn’t due process," attorney Shane Etheridge posted. "They just throw words out and hope somebody is dumb enough to accept it as being a correct statement."

Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko tweeted the clip of Habba's interview and asked "legal scholars" among his followers to "explain this to me." This prompted attorney Bradley Moss to tweet a GIF of actor John McGinley's Scrubs character, Dr. Perry Cox, saying "she's cuckoo pants."

When contacted by Newsweek, Habba defended her comments, saying," Having the right to attend Court proceedings when you are a defendant in cases which hinge on such a critical decision such as immunity is a right no one should be deprived of."

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