The Colorado Supreme Court has found Donald Trump guilty of insurrection and has ruled that he is therefore ineligible to run for office again. This case and ruling are distinct from the four other cases pending against Trump in other courts. The outcome of those other cases may also be determined by whether the former president can run for office again and enter the White House for the second time.
What was the Colorado case, and what have the judges ruled?
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Tuesday (December 19) that Trump is “disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Furthermore, the court stated that “because he (Trump) is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot”.
In the United States, the highest court in each state is known as the Supreme Court of that state. On March 5, the biggest day of primaries in the US presidential election calendar, known as Super Tuesday, both Republicans and Democrats will hold primaries in Colorado and 12 other states. The court ruled that Trump cannot run in Colorado’s Republican primary.
Can Donald Trump still run for president in 2024?
However, the justices have put their decision on hold until January 4. This is to allow Trump to appeal their decision to the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS). If Trump files an appeal before then, the Colorado ruling will be stayed until the Supreme Court rules.
Yes. The Trump campaign has already stated that it will file an appeal, which could happen very soon. The US Supreme Court has a 6-3 Conservative majority, with Trump appointing three of the six Conservative justices.
In theory, it is up to the US Supreme Court to decide whether to hear the case. However, it appears unlikely that they will refuse to accept the responsibility.
While the Colorado ruling applies only to that state, similar cases are pending elsewhere, and legal scholars in the US have said that the Supreme Court will have to decide for all 50 states whether the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol constituted an insurgency and whether Trump is thus barred from running again.
“It’s hard for me to see how they (SCOTUS) don’t take this one because this certainly seems to be one of those questions that requires some national resolution,” a report in The New York Times quoted law professor Anthony Michael Kreis as saying.
According to Prof. Muller, who was also quoted in the New York Times, “This is a major and extraordinary holding from a state Supreme Court.” A presidential candidate has never been barred from running for office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Review by the United States Supreme Court appears to be unavoidable, and it places significant strain on the court.”
According to the Washington Post, “If other states reach the same conclusion, Trump would have a difficult—if not impossible—time securing the Republican nomination and winning in November.”