Houston, Texas — A federal judge has delayed the Department of Justice’s criminal trial against Dr. Eithan Haim until February, two months after it was set to begin.
Haim is the surgeon-turned-whistleblower who exposed Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) last year for continuing to transition minors after hospital leadership announced it would shut down the transgender medical program.
U.S. District judge David Hittner scheduled the final pre-trial conference for February 6 and jury selection for February 10, with the trial most likely starting the latter date presuming all jurors are selected. The Reagan-appointed judge ruled that he would continue the hearing without prejudice, meaning the trial is postponed.
The decision came Tuesday afternoon during a motion hearing in which Hittner was considering the government’s motion for a gag order against the defendant and his attorneys.
Hittner deferred the gag order at this time, but the judge said he “will not hesitate” to reconsider one. Hittner noted he has never issued a gag order in his decades-long career as a federal judge.
The DOJ wanted to silence Haim and his legal team, keeping them from taking to social media to criticize the federal prosecutors and complain about what they see as an unfair case. The prosecutors claimed the sheer volume of the social-media posts constituted “online bullying” and demonstrated “inflammatory language,” while the defense lawyers cited Haim’s First Amendment rights in arguing that he can...
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