'Big problem for Trump': Courts grapple with nonstop gag order violations

03 May 2024

On Tuesday, April 30, Justice Juan Merchan fined former President Donald Trump $9000 for repeatedly violating a partial gag order in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s hush money/falsifying business records case. Merchan ruled that there were nine violations, and he fined Trump $1000 for each one.

Trump responded by lashing out at Merchan on his Truth Social platform, attacking him as a "highly conflicted judge" and accusing him of "rigging the presidential…. election."

The New York City judge warned Trump that "jail may be a necessary punishment" if he continues to violate the partial gag order, but so far, Merchan has yet to take that step.

NOTUS reporter Calen Razor, in an article published on May 3, points out that First Amendment law in the United States is unclear when it comes to gag orders — and that the issues being raised by Merchan's partial gag order in this case are unprecedented.

Attorney Ken White, known for his First Amendment-related work at the firm Brown White & Osborn LLP, told NOTUS, "Merchan is operating in this area where First Amendment law is not as well-defined as it is in most circumstances. There is relatively little law on gag orders in trials because most people don't try to piss off their judge."

Criminal defense lawyer J. Craig Williams, similarly, told NOTUS, "It's complicated in this area. Appeals, bonds and gag orders and the like. They're unusual, and (Trump) and his lawyers are testing every single thing they can test. So, we're digging deep into the annals of our Code of Civil Procedures and trying to figure out what happens next."

Merchan isn't the only judge who has imposed a partial gag order on Trump.

Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a partial gag order in special counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case against Trump, and the former president has accused both Merchan and Chutkan of violating his First Amendment rights.

Attorney Joe Patrice, known for his work with the firm Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP in the past, told NOTUS, "This is all going to continue to be a big problem for Trump, who is not used to the fact that the sanctity of a court proceeding can usurp the First Amendment under certain circumstances. The odds that he will walk out of the courtroom and create more trouble for himself are high."

Read the full NOTUS article at this link.

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