A judge has ruled that President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

"I conclude that she is not statutorily eligible to perform the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney and has therefore unlawfully held the role since July 24, 2025," US District Judge Matthew Brann wrote on Thursday.

Brann said he's putting his order on hold pending an appeal.

Brann's decision comes in response to a filing on behalf of two New Jersey defendants who faced a trial on federal drug-trafficking charges.

Their attorney sought to block the charges against his clients, arguing that Habba didn't have the authority to prosecute the case after her 120-day term as interim US attorney expired in July.

Brann wrote that Habba's actions since July 1 "may be declared void, including her approval of the indictment of Defendant Cesar Humberto Pina," though that fact does not require its dismissal.

The ruling is likely to spur similar legal challenges and could bring hundreds of federal criminal cases in New Jersey to a halt.

Who is Habba?

A New Jersey native, Habba was born to Catholic Iraqi parents who migrated to the US in the 1980s.

She graduated from Kent Place School in 2002 and earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Lehigh University in 2005.

For the two following years, she worked in the fashion industry at Marc Jacobs, before returning to college and earning her law degree from Widener University in 2010.

She established her own firm in 2020 and later joined Trump's legal team in 2021.

According to the Attorney's Office of District New Jersey, she currently supervises a staff of approximately 155 federal prosecutors and 130 support personnel.