Trump drew one of his favorite judges. Here’s how she could help his case.

Donald Trump seemed to win the judicial lottery when his newest criminal case — a 37-count indictment for hoarding classified documents and obstructing a grand jury probe — landed before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon.

Cannon, a Trump appointee confirmed to the federal bench just days after Trump lost his reelection bid, ruled deferentially for Trump last summer when he contested the FBI’s seizure of some of those very documents. Legal experts described Cannon’s pro-Trump rulings at the time as audacious and even lawless, and a conservative appeals-court panel (which itself consisted of two other Trump appointees) quickly overruled her.

Now, Cannon will be in an even more powerful position to steer Trump’s legal fortunes. After special counsel Jack Smith obtained an indictment in the Southern District of Florida, about seven active judges in the district appeared eligible to preside over the case. In an apparently random twist of fate, the court’s computerized assignment system allocated the case to Cannon.