- Trump's hush-money defense lawyers have protested the judge's tight control over pretrial motions.
- In a blistering order Tuesday, the judge doubled down on requiring advance notice of new motions.
- Trump's lawyers face "criminal contempt" if they file more motions without asking first, he wrote.
Donald Trump's New York hush money judge issued a blistering written order Tuesday that warned the GOP frontrunner's defense team against "dilatory" delay tactics between now and the new April 15 trial date.
The judge, state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, threatened Trump's lawyers with contempt if they again try to bend his strict rules limiting the filing of any new pretrial motions.
Courts have "power to punish for a criminal contempt" whenever there is "willful disobedience" of a judge's orders, Merchan warned in his ruling.
"This Court has the authority to implement measures as necessary to manage its docket and prevent "dilatory tactics" right up until the eve of trial," Merchan wrote.
Read Judge Merchan's ruling here.
Dilatory delays will not be tolerated, the judge warned.
"Defendant, either directly or through counsel, has repeatedly stated publicly that the defense goal is to delay these proceedings, if possible, past the 2024 presidential election," the judge noted in a footnote on the second page of the ruling.
Merchan's four-page ruling concerns defense pretrial motions.
The judge has said he does not want to be strafed by last-minute, trial-delaying requests and demands.
On March 8, he ordered that before any new pretrial motions are filed, the parties must send him a one-page pre-motion letter setting out the relief being sought. Only if the judge says yes, could the actual motion be filed.
But in Tuesday's ruling, Merchan criticized Trump's team for skirting that rule last week by sending a one-page pre-motion letter attached to the motion itself.
Trump's side has complained that requiring these letters and the judge's permission violates his constitutional right to a fair trial.
