A US circuit court on Thursday released a schedule for the appeal of a federal judge's dismissal of the criminal case charging former president Donald Trump with mishandling top secret documents.
The standard calendar from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals makes it unlikely there will be a resolution of the case before the November election, in which Trump is the Republican presidential candidate.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges against Trump, filed an appeal to the 11th Circuit on July 17 of District Court Judge Aileen Cannon's surprise dismissal of the case against the former president.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, threw out the documents case earlier this month on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed, usurping the role of Congress.
The 11th Circuit asked Smith to file his initial brief in the case by August 27 and gave Trump's lawyers 30 days to respond. Smith then has 21 days to file a reply to Trump's brief.
If the Circuit Court revives the case against Trump, the former president could potentially appeal to the Supreme Court. Trump faces multiple criminal cases as he tries to regain the White House. He was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up payments to a porn star.
Smith was named special counsel in 2022 by President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland. He was tasked with overseeing the investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents after he left office and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Cannon's ruling followed a Supreme Court opinion that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution for their official acts. That decision has helped Trump in his quest to delay the trials he faces until after the November 5 vote. These include charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.