DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.
Personally, I don’t think Trump should be on any ballot because he has a history of undermining democracy. It’s self-defeating for a democracy to allow non-democratic actors to participate.
That said, I also agree with the dissenting opinion. Without a conviction of insurrection, a court shouldn’t be able to limit democratic participation. That would be denying a person due process. I suspect the supreme court will see it that way too.
If you disagree with me, just imagine how this precedent could be used by the right against a left-leaning candidate. If democracy is limited without a conviction of insurrection, you’ll see this applied to candidates on very shaky grounds.
14th Amendment Section 3
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, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Seems pretty cut and dry to me. It’s preposterous to allow that traitorous criminal to run for any office. While it may cause individuals to rise up in rebellion again, for which they would pay a heavy price, the damage would be much worse should he get into office.
If it were so cut and dry, the courts wouldn’t be overturning one another. Something can seem obvious to us but require time for the legal system to formalize. I think Trump committed insurrection. I also think he should stand trial for that accusation before any consequences of it can come to bear. Eroding due process isn’t how you fight against bad ideas.
This is not actually setting a precedent… This determination was made numerous times before without convictions, mostly in the aftermath of the Civil War. The precedent of a conviction or even a formal charge being unnecessary is long-standing.
Notably, it’s part of the matter of fact ruling of the CO courts that Trump committed sedition. It would be VERY uncommon for federal courts to change those matters of fact – they would instead rule on matters of law.
There’s a lot to be said about the flaws in this disqualification. Is the 14th self-enforcing such that courts even have the authority to make a ruling to disqualify? Was there full due process? Why didn’t the 14th specifically name POTUS if it named electors of the POTUS as subjects of disqualification? Will the SCOTUS just step in and be a political & lawmaking body because they feel like it as usual?
But it would be VERY weird for the courts to rule “not seditionist”. That would surprise even the most cynical legal scholars, I think.
I know that the wording of the amendment doesn’t require a conviction. I think it should. The dissenting opinion also favors this interpretation. I don’t think we should look at the reconstruction era for the best ways to interpret the constitution. Due process can and should be given more weight.
Edit: if this wasn’t meant to set a precedent, what would be the purpose? It’s not like Trump has a chance of winning Colorado anyway. The purpose is for Colorado to be the first domino to fall and for swing states to use the same tactic to remove him from the ballot.
If this attempt is successful, you can bet right wing groups will attempt to block left-wing candidates from ballots and make them fight a court battle to get on the ballot.