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Washington (AP) – A case with the ability to disrupt Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House is putting Supreme Court uncomfortably in the center of 2024 presidential campaign,
At arguments Thursday, the judges will, for the first time, wrestle a constitutional provisions It was adopted to prevent former officials “involved in rebellion” from regaining power after the Civil War.
Case The court’s most direct involvement in presidential elections since bush vs gore, a decision handed down a quarter century ago that effectively defeated Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 election. Gave Bush victory. This is a matter of a court which has been surrounded by criticism regarding ethics, due to which the judges have adopted first code of conduct in November, and at a time when public approval of the court has waned Near record low in surveys.
The controversy stems from pressure by Republican and independent voters in Colorado to oust Trump from the state’s Republican primary ballot in an effort to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, which culminated in a redistricting. January 6, 2021, attack At the US Capitol.
supreme court of colorado It was determined that Trump incited the riot in the nation’s capital and as a result he is ineligible to run for president again and should not be on the ballot for the state’s primary election on March 5.
A victory by Colorado voters would amount to a declaration by the judges, including When Trump was President he appointed three, that he was involved in the rebellion and is barred by the 14th Amendment from holding office again. That would allow states to keep him off the ballot and jeopardize his campaign.
A definitive verdict for Trump would largely end efforts in Colorado, I And elsewhere to prevent his name from appearing on the ballot.
The justices could opt for a less decisive outcome, but with the knowledge that the issue could come back to them, perhaps after the general election in November and amid a full-blown constitutional crisis.
The court has indicated that it will seek to act expeditiously, which would dramatically reduce the time required to receive written briefings and argue in the courtroom.
Trump is separately appealing a ruling by Maine Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in state court that he is ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot because of his role. capitol attack, The decisions of both the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State are on hold pending a hearing on appeals.
The former president is not expected to attend the Supreme Court session this upcoming week, although he has appeared for court proceedings Civil lawsuits and criminal charges He is fighting.
Whatever the judge decides, he will likely see more cases from Trump, who faces criminal charges related to Jan. 6 and other issues. Other election-related lawsuits are also possible.
In 2000, in the Bush v. Gore case, the court and the parties were divided over whether judges should intervene.
The conservative-driven 5-4 decision has since been heavily criticized, particularly given that the Court cautioned against using the case as precedent when the unsigned majority opinion declared that “Our view Limited to the circumstances.”
In the present case, both the parties want the matter to be settled as soon as possible.
Trump’s campaign declined to make anyone available for this story, but his lawyers urged the judge not to delay.
“The Court must quickly and decisively end these ballot-disqualification efforts, which threaten to disenfranchise millions of Americans and which promise to spark chaos and uproar if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead. and exclude potential Republican presidential nominees from their ballots,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
Donald Sherman, the top lawyer for the group behind the ballot challenge, said voters and election officials need to respond quickly.
“And I think, obviously, voters have little interest in knowing whether the Supreme Court thinks, as does every fact-finder who approaches this question, that January 6 was an insurrection and Donald Trump is an insurrectionist, ” Sherman said in an interview with The Associated Press. He is executive vice president and chief legal counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Justice Clarence Thomas is the only current member of the court who was on the bench in Bush v. Gore. He was part of that majority.
The US Supreme Court is photographed on Friday, January 5, 2024 in Washington. The Supreme Court will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be barred from the 2024 presidential election after his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss culminated in the US Capitol attack. The justices agreed Friday to take up the Colorado case, involving themselves in the presidential campaign and acknowledging the need to make a decision quickly. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
But three other justices joined the legal fight on Bush’s side: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Bush ultimately placed Roberts on a federal appeals court and then appointed him chief justice. Bush appointed Kavanaugh to key White House jobs before appointing him an appellate judge.
Kavanaugh and Barrett were promoted to the Supreme Court by Trump, who also appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Thomas has ignored calls by some Democratic lawmakers and ethics professors to step aside from the current case. He noted that his wife, Ginny Thomas, Supported Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Ginny Thomas repeatedly messaged White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the weeks after that election, once referring to it as a “robbery,” and she attended a rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. It happened before. Nearly two years later, he told the Congressional committee investigating the attack that he regretted sending the message.
Trump lost 60 separate court challenges over his false claims that there was widespread voter fraud that could have changed the outcome of that election.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against Trump and his allies in 2020 election-related lawsuits, as well as blocking his efforts to prevent documents related to January 6 and his tax returns from being turned over to congressional committees.
But the conservative majority appointed by Trump has taken decisions that have overturned a 5 decade old decision constitutional right to abortion, expanding gun rights And Affirmative action in college admissions canceled,
The issue of whether Trump can be on the ballot is one of several cases related to the former president or Jan. 6 that have reached the high court. judge Special counsel Jack Smith’s request denied The issue may soon return to court, depending on a ruling by the Washington-based appeals court.
will go to court in April hear an appeal Hundreds of allegations arising from this may be dismissed capitol riotWhich also includes against Trump.
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