Federal Appeals Court Affirms Ruling Against Trump Administration's Appointment of Nevada Prosecutor

A federal appeals court panel on Monday affirmed a previous judicial order that deemed the appointment of Sigal Chattah as the leading federal prosecutor in Nevada unlawful. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel concluded that the Justice Department's strategies to maintain Chattah in the position, through specific appointment and delegation mechanisms after her interim tenure concluded, were not legally permissible.

This ruling specifically disqualifies Chattah from supervising three ongoing criminal prosecutions, reinforcing a district judge's determination that she was not legitimately serving as the head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada.

Background of the Appointment

Sigal Chattah, who previously served as Nevada's Republican National Committee member before joining the U.S. Justice Department, was initially appointed as an interim U.S. attorney. Her term began on April 1, 2025, and was set to last for a maximum of 120 days.

As her interim period approached its expiration in late July of that year, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi took action. Shortly before the 120-day limit, Chattah resigned from her interim role, and Bondi subsequently designated her as the first assistant U.S. attorney. The Justice Department contended that this maneuver enabled Chattah to function as the acting U.S. attorney under the provisions of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, particularly since a permanent U.S. attorney had not yet been confirmed by the Senate.

In addition to this designation, Bondi also appointed Chattah as a special attorney. The Justice Department maintained that her appointment to the No. 2 position within the office—first assistant—automatically qualified her to serve as acting U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

Legal Challenge and District Court Ruling

The legality of Chattah's authority was swiftly challenged by federal public defenders in Nevada. They contested her role in several unrelated criminal cases, asserting that her appointment was illegitimate and that the cases she oversaw should therefore be dismissed.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell sided with the public defenders in September, ruling against the administration's position. This decision prompted an appeal from the administration.

Appeals Court's Unanimous Decision

The appeals court panel, in its Monday decision, found that the specific provision of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act cited by the Justice Department only allows a first assistant to automatically assume the role of acting U.S. attorney if that individual was already holding the first-assistant position at the moment the vacancy occurred. This condition was not met in Chattah's case.

"Nor can the Attorney General create a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by delegating all of the functions and duties of the U.S. Attorney to someone else," wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Eric Miller, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

The unanimous three-judge panel included Judge Miller, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., who was also a Trump appointee sitting by designation, and U.S. Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas.

The Justice Department had presented two primary arguments to the appeals court: first, that Chattah’s designation as first assistant automatically permitted her to serve as acting U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act; and second, that the attorney general possessed the authority to delegate U.S. attorney functions to her. The panel explicitly rejected both of these contentions.

Broader Implications and Precedents

This judicial outcome marks another setback for the administration's efforts to maintain temporary appointees in top federal prosecutor roles without the required Senate confirmation. The ongoing debate surrounding such appointments occurs amidst broader controversy regarding the Senate Judiciary Committee's "blue slip" tradition, a practice that can enable home-state senators to significantly obstruct U.S. attorney nominees if the committee chairman chooses to honor their objections.

For the permanent Nevada U.S. attorney position, President Trump did not nominate Chattah. Instead, he put forward George Kelesis in February 2026.

A similar ruling occurred in December when the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Alina Habba, who had served as a personal lawyer for Trump, was not lawfully acting as U.S. attorney in New Jersey and consequently disqualified her from supervising cases in that capacity.