Department of Justice Once Again Proves Its Loyalty to the President, Not the Rule of Law

AUSTIN SARAT

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost, Associate Dean of the Faculty, and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College—comments on the recent news that the Justice Department will seek dismissal of charges against Michael Flynn. Sarat suggests that because the decision does not seem to advance the fair administration of justice in this case, the court should take the unusual step of refusing to grant the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss.

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Rosner v. United States

Docket: 19-687

Opinion Date: May 8, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure

The Second Circuit dismissed this interlocutory appeal for lack of jurisdiction. At issue is whether a party to a litigation may immediately appeal a non-final disclosure order adverse to his psychotherapist-patient privilege. The court held that the availability of a post-judgment appeal, along with various other potential avenues for review, suffices to protect the litigant's rights and ensures the vitality of the privilege. Therefore, the court held that this non-final order falls within neither the collateral order doctrine nor the exception to finality created by Perlman v. United States, 247 U.S. 7 (1918).