The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over whether Donald Trump is disqualified under the Constitution’s Disqualification Clause, starting at 10:00 AM ET.
Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling from the Colorado state Supreme Court which found that Trump could not appear on the state’s primary ballot because he engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, thereby disqualifying him.
There’s a funny thing about this case: the more you understand the questions of law which surround Section Three of the 14th Amendment, the less clear it becomes what the Supreme Court will do. That’s not to be naive: conservatives have a supermajority on the court — they’re likely (but it’s not a sure thing) to find a way to say that Trump can stay on the ballot.
But the question of how they get there is fraught with difficult questions. Each path risks eviscerating the Disqualification Clause, or impinging on other hinge points in the constitutional structure.
Part of what will interest us as oral arguments play out today is how the justices approach these questions, which are largely unexplored outside of academic articles. As scheduled, Trump gets 40 minutes to make his case. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) gets 30 minutes, and the Colorado Secretary of State (which supports the state Supreme Court’s decision) gets 10. But we’re expecting it will go longer.
Follow along with us below:
Here’s how the Supreme Court lined up the question for itself: Did the Colorado Supreme Court err in ordering President Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot?
And, if you need reference during what is sure to be a marathon session of oral arguments, we’ve laid out the main documents you need to understand the case, including Trump’s main briefs, CREW’s, and the lower court rulings which found that Trump could be disqualified for engaging in insurrection.
Supreme Court filings:
Trump cert petition
Trump opening brief
CREW (Colorado voters) brief
Colorado Secretary of State brief
Trump reply brief
Lower court documents:
Colorado Supreme Court decision
Colorado district court decision
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The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over whether Donald Trump is disqualified under the Constitution’s Disqualification Clause, starting at 10:00 AM ET.
Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling from the Colorado state Supreme Court which found that Trump could not appear on the state’s primary ballot because he engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, thereby disqualifying him.
There’s a funny thing about this case: the more you understand the questions of law which surround Section Three of the 14th Amendment, the less clear it becomes what the Supreme Court will do. That’s not to be naive: conservatives have a supermajority on the court — they’re likely (but it’s not a sure thing) to find a way to say that Trump can stay on the ballot.
But the question of how they get there is fraught with difficult questions. Each path risks eviscerating the Disqualification Clause, or impinging on other hinge points in the constitutional structure.
Part of what will interest us as oral arguments play out today is how the justices approach these questions, which are largely unexplored outside of academic articles. As scheduled, Trump gets 40 minutes to make his case. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) gets 30 minutes, and the Colorado Secretary of State (which supports the state Supreme Court’s decision) gets 10. But we’re expecting it will go longer.
Follow along with us below:
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