Trump allies' push to move Georgia trial could mean delays, Stanford Law dean named provost, House Republicans launch probe of Atlanta DA and more ??

?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here are today's top legal stories:

?? Trump allies' push to move Georgia subversion trial could mean delays

Efforts by Donald Trump allies to move Georgia's criminal case charging the former U.S. president with trying to overturn an election to federal court is raising legal questions that could delay a trial, which may be a key part of their strategy.

Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who was charged alongside the former president with trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election is pushing to move his case to federal court.

Two other defendants, former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark and David Shafer, who was a Republican presidential elector nominee, have also filed papers citing a law known as the Federal Officer Removal Statute in a bid to transfer their cases.

Trump, who has a history of using delay as a legal tactic, is also trying to move upcoming criminal trials in New York and Washington to other courts. He is also defending a criminal indictment in Miami.

In the meantime, the former president has brought on a new lawyer, Steven Sadow. He’s known for representing hip-hop performers and other high-profile criminal defendants in Atlanta.

?? Stanford Law dean named provost after managing free-speech controversy

Stanford University has named law dean Jenny Martinez as its next provost—the university’s chief academic and budgetary officer. She will assume her new post Oct. 1.

Martinez’s tenure as law school dean from 2019 to 2023 has been marked by innovation and controversy. Stanford Law has faced scrutiny since for its handling of a March 9 incident in which a group of students disrupted remarks by 5th U.S. Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2017.

Martinez apologized to Duncan and later issued a 10-page public letter concluding that Stanford Law administrators did not enforce the school’s speech policy, which prohibits shutting down speakers through heckling. An assistant dean involved in the Duncan incident recently left the law school.

University officials credited Martinez with launching a number of new programs at the law school, including a center devoted to the rule of law. The law school also expanded financial aid and bolstered its diversity and inclusion efforts under her leadership, they said.

“She has provided courageous leadership for her school in very difficult circumstances,” said outgoing Stanford provost Persis Drell in a statement.

?? US House Republicans launch probe of Atlanta DA in Trump election case

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans launched an investigation of Fani Willis, the district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County, as former President Donald Trump prepared to report to jail on criminal charges she brought involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally, sent Willis a letter raising questions about whether she coordinated her probe with the U.S. Justice Department, including Special Counsel Jack Smith, or used federal tax money in the investigation.

Jordan raised concerns about her motivation in bringing the case and asserted congressional authority to "probe whether former presidents are being subjected to politically motivated investigations and prosecutions."

Jordan gave Willis until 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Sept. 7 to turn over documents and communications involving any use of federal funds by her office and any contacts in the Trump case with officials at the Justice Department or elsewhere in the Biden administration.

In the case brought by Willis, Trump was accused of unlawfully pressuring Georgia state officials to reverse his 2020 election loss to Biden in the state. House Republicans have sought to defend Trump in the four cases by alleging that the U.S. justice system has been "weaponized" against him by Biden.

?? Florida urges U.S. appeals court to revive ban on 'woke' workplace training

A U.S. appeals court panel grappled with whether a Florida law banning mandatory workplace diversity training that promotes progressive concepts violates employers' free speech rights.

The 2022 law, known as the Stop the Wrong to Our Kids and Employees Act or Stop WOKE Act, says employers cannot require workers to attend trainings that promote eight specific concepts. Those include that individuals are inherently racist or sexist and that people should feel guilty about the actions of members of their race or sex.

Supporters of the law have said it will protect workers' "individual freedoms" and curb workplace discrimination. Republican-led states have adopted a series of laws to discourage companies from taking stances on gun control, climate change, diversity and other social issues.

John Ohlendorf, who argued for Florida, told the 11th Circuit panel that the judge who blocked the law was wrong to find that it violated employers' free-speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Employers can still promote any view they like, and are only barred from mandating attendance, he said.

?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File and have a great weekend!

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