Supreme Court Rejects Colorado Ruling To Remove Donald Trump From Ballot
In a decision that is raising legal scholars' eyebrows around the United States, the US Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Colorado State Supreme Court ruling to disqualify Donald Trump from the ballot under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The highest court in the land restored Republican front-runner Donald Trump to the Colorado primary ballot. All nine justices, including embattled Justice Clarence Thomas, who many said should have recused himself from the case, ruled that the state of Colorado lacked authority to disqualify him over the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.
The decision came just weeks after the justices heard oral arguments in the politically sensitive case and also just a week removed from their controversial decision to delay the Donald Trump immunity case for April when they are scheduled to hear oral arguments for it.
"Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse," the high court wrote in its decision.
According to NPR, the ruling made it clear that the Constitution "empowers Congress" to determine how to use the "severe" penalty of disqualification, with that power not going to the states but Congress itself.
Donald Trump celebrated the rare legal win with a post on his Truth Social account, saying that the opinion was a "BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!" He added that the Supreme Court decision "will go a long way in bringing our country together." However, the decision was largely criticized by many legal scholars despite it being unanimous.
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Legal Scholars Say Supreme Court Decision on Donald Trump Colorado Disqualification 'a Bad Sign'
As Donald Trump celebrated, his critics and several legal scholars blasted the 9-0 decision by the Supreme Court as a "blow against accountability." While legal scholars accepted that this was the most likely outcome, the real controversy about the decision actually lies in the "details."
Thomas Keck, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, spoke with Al Jazeera News and admitted that the Colorado case was a "long shot" and the ruling was "not surprising." However, the ruling only "opened up larger questions about what guardrails exist to protect US democracy."
"It has been three years [since January 6], and Trump has faced almost zero consequences. That is a bad sign for the health of the country's democratic institutions," the legal scholar said.
Former Federal Judge Reacts to Supreme Court Decision on Donald Trump Colorado Case
Retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig was one of many legal experts who blasted the Supreme Court ruling on the Donald Trump Colorado disqualification case. He stated that the decision that allowed former President Trump to remain on the presidential ballot is "stunning in its overreach."
"Not for its decision of the exceedingly narrow question presented by the case, though that issue is important, but rather for its decision to reach and decide a myriad of the other constitutional issues surrounding," he added during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Supreme Court keeps Trump on Colorado ballot, rejecting 14th Amendment push