Which specific federal courts are handling Donald Trump’s criminal indictments in 2026 and what are the next scheduled proceedings?
Executive summary
The two federal courts that have been at the center of Donald Trump’s criminal indictments are the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election‑related case was assigned to Judge Tanya Chutkan, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Judge Aileen Cannon presided over the classified‑documents indictment; as of early February 2026 the D.C. trial remains postponed with no new date set and the Florida matter was on a court-ordered hold extended through February 24, 2026 [1] [2] [3].
1. The D.C. federal court — Chutkan’s calendar and what’s next
Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has been the trial judge for the federal indictment charging Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election; Chutkan formally postponed the scheduled trial and, following the Supreme Court’s July immunity ruling and subsequent remands, the court has not set a new trial date, leaving the case in procedural limbo as the parties litigate which counts survive the immunity analysis [1] [4]. The immediate downstream consequence is further briefing and pretrial motion practice in D.C. to parse the Supreme Court’s immunity guidelines and to identify which allegations, if any, remain triable — proceedings that the trial court will schedule as those legal questions are resolved [1].
2. The Southern District of Florida — Aileen Cannon’s hold and the 11th Circuit posture
In the classified‑documents prosecution in the Southern District of Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon granted pauses and extensions as the defense challenged the special‑counsel’s appointment and funding; that litigation produced rulings including a July 15, 2024 dismissal by Cannon that triggered appeals and further procedural maneuvers, and the court administratively extended a scheduling hold through February 24, 2026 to allow continued challenges [3] [2]. The government appealed earlier procedural rulings to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and the appellate and interlocutory work remains the next path for the dispute — meaning further filings and possible oral argument at the 11th Circuit are the foreseeable near‑term events tied to the Florida docket [5] [3].
3. What “next proceedings” mean in practice — delay, appeals, and coordination
Across both federal dockets the next scheduled proceedings are largely pretrial and appellate: in D.C. the immediate steps are legal briefings and rulings over immunity and the scope of the indictment before any new trial date is set, while in Florida the case’s immediate timeline depends on the outcome of interlocutory appeals and the administrative hold that extended to February 24, 2026 [1] [2] [5]. That dynamic — litigation over jurisdictional and procedural questions rather than a straight path to trial — has been reinforced by reporting that after the 2024 election some federal prosecutions of Trump were dismissed or placed on hold, shifting many disputes into appeals and procedural skirmishes rather than near-term jury trials [3] [1].
4. Alternative views and political context that shape court scheduling
Prosecutors emphasize the seriousness of the charges and the need for speedy resolution consistent with complex discovery rules (including those relating to classified material), while defense teams and some political allies argue that procedural defects, immunity questions, or improper special‑counsel appointments justify delays or dismissals — arguments that have already produced divergent judicial outcomes and appeals in both the D.C. and Florida dockets [2] [3] [1]. Observers should also note that changes at the Justice Department and the political stakes surrounding a sitting president’s legal exposure create incentives for aggressive litigation strategies on both sides; reporting on DOJ priorities under the new administration signals institutional shifts that could influence prosecutorial posture and timing [6].
5. Narrow takeaways for the immediate calendar
Concretely, the District of Columbia case sits with Judge Chutkan with no new trial date after a formal postponement while immunity and related motions work their way through the courts, and the Southern District of Florida matter remains subject to the court’s administrative stay that was extended through February 24, 2026 and to ongoing appellate proceedings in the 11th Circuit — those are the next places to watch for filings, arguments, and potential scheduling orders [1] [2] [5]. Where reporting does not provide a specific next‑day hearing or calendar entry for either case, this summary limits itself to the explicit continuances, holds, and appeals reflected in contemporary coverage [1] [2] [5].