The Colorado Supreme Court decision disqualifying Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot reversed the trial judge’s conclusion that the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” doesn’t apply to the presidency.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says:
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State,” if they took an oath to “support” the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection.
But it doesn’t say anything about the presidency.
The trial judge concluded that because of the vagueness and omissions in the constitutional amendment, the ban doesn’t apply to the presidency.
But the Colorado Supreme Court disagreed. The court said there was enough evidence to conclude that “the drafters of this Amendment intended the phrase ‘any office’ to be broadly inclusive, and certainly to include the Presidency.”
“We do not place the same weight the district court did on the fact that the Presidency is not specifically mentioned in Section Three. It seems most likely that the Presidency is not specifically included because it is so evidently an ‘office,’” the court said in its decision.
The justices continued: “A conclusion that the Presidency is something other than an office ‘under’ the United States is fundamentally at odds with the idea that all government officials, including the President, serve ‘we the people.’”
Donald Trump could remain on Colorado’s presidential ballot if the former president decides to appeal the state Supreme Court’s historic ruling that ordered his removal Tuesday.
If Trump even asks the US Supreme Court to step in by January 4 – the date set by the Colorado Supreme Court for parties to appeal before the ruling goes into effect – the decision will remain paused, according to Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas Law School.
That means the GOP frontrunner will “almost certainly” remain on Colorado’s primary ballot on March 5, according to Vladeck.
Categories: Trump
oho.. so we will not see the ‘fun’ of a Biden Trump election? (a non USA national speaking)…
The 4-3 decision removes Trump from the Republican primary ballot in Colorado, which is scheduled for Super Tuesday in early March. However, the Colorado justices paused their ruling so Trump can appeal to the US Supreme Court, which could even preserve his spot on the state’s primary ballot if the appeal isn’t settled quickly.
In many ways, the landmark ruling holds Trump accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 election and provides a political punishment for his anti-democratic behavior. The ruling is also a massive vindication for the liberal groups and constitutional scholars of all stripes who championed such 14th Amendment lawsuits despite their long odds.
But Trump has mastered the art of converting legal setbacks into polling bounces. He’s already in a stronger position today to beat President Joe Biden than he was one year ago, before he was criminally indicted in four jurisdictions. And he and his GOP allies kicked into high gear Tuesday night, playing the victim card and railing against the ruling.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/19/politics/takeaways-trump-colorado-supreme-court-14th-amendment-insurrection/index.html
But now the justices will have to determine – quickly – if the former president is even eligible to be on the ballot and whether he’s immune to prosecution from special counsel Jack Smith, both controversies stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack.
“These are cases that the Supreme Court typically has the ability to duck, but that are really presenting themselves as national controversies before the court rather than the court reaching out to grab controversial issues,” Justin Levitt, an election law specialist at Loyola Law School, told CNN.
“There are very few places to duck,” he said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/20/politics/trump-supreme-court-2024-election/index.html