(The Center Square) – All nine U.S. Supreme Court justices challenged constitutional arguments for removing former President Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot during arguments before the court on Thursday.
During arguments scheduled to last 80 minutes, the justices spent almost 130 minutes listening to and questioning three attorneys: Jonathan Mitchell representing Trump, Jason Murray representing six Colorado Republicans who filed suit last year to remove the former president from the ballot, and Shannon Stevenson representing the Colorado secretary of state.
Murray argued the Colorado Supreme Court was correct in its ruling allowing removal of Trump for his role in what they described as an “insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021. Stevenson argued the Colorado secretary of state’s office acted within state law to remove Trump from the state ballot under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In an answer to a question on the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, Justice Elena Kagan asked Murray why one state should be held up as precedent for the rest of the nation.
“Ultimately, it’s this court that’s going to decide the question of federal constitutional eligibility and settle the issue for the nation,” Murray said.
Chief Justice John Roberts also asked Murray if he realized the consequences of his court’s ruling.
“If Colorado’s position is upheld, surely there will be disqualification proceedings on the other side and some of those will succeed,” Roberts said. “Some of them will have different standards of proof. Some of them will have different rules about evidence. … In very quick order I would expect, although my predictions have never been correct, I would expect that a goodly number of states will say whoever the Democratic candidate is, you’re off the ballot. And others for the Republican candidate, you’re off the ballot.”
“It’ll come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That’s a pretty daunting consequence,” he added.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson challenged Mitchell to clarify Trump’s belief there wasn’t an insurrection.
“For an insurrection, there needs to be an organized, concerted effort,” Mitchell said. “This was a riot. It was not an insurrection. The events were shameful, criminal, violent – all of those things – but did not qualify as an insurrection as that term is used” in the constitution.
In December, the Colorado Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision ruled Trump could be removed from the March 2024 presidential primary ballot. It overruled a district court that stated Trump’s speech on Jan. 6 “incited imminent lawless violence” but didn’t meet the standard of “engagement” found in the U.S. Constitution.
In briefs filed before Thursday’s arguments, Trump’s legal team stated the former president is not an “officer of the United States” and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment can only be enforced by the U.S. Congress, not a state.
“A ruling from this court that affirms the decision below would … take away the votes of potentially tens of millions of Americans,” Mitchell said.
These illegitimate arguing Colorado democrat lawyers in their twisted legal thinking, aborted their own “Bride of Chucky” baby before it even hit the Supreme Court birthing table. They and their party nominated appeals judge aborters, only intended anyway, to keep it alive long enough to kill Trump and re-elect Biden, then kill it off before that same rule takes out their actually guilty corrupt Biden zombie of a President and his walking brain dead administration.
For once in a long time the justices on the Court appear to the concept concerning a provision of The Constitution as to the line is drawn between state and federal jurisdiction
Even the liberal judges, were hammering the lawyer.. LETS HOPE that means they are all going to vote AGAINST keeping Trump off the ballot. AND make it proactive enough to STOP THE PUSH in many other states.
You can bet that this is being done out of nothing more than their hatred of TRUMP. THEY CANNOT EVEN TELL ONE Thing that TRUMP did wrong, the only thing these autocrats are worried about is the fact that Trump knows what is best for the country and that he is 100% up for keeping the CONSTITUTION and that the Satan worshipping DEMONcrats are all for getting rid of the constitution in all its forms. The creature byden could not even put three words together because of his alzheimers. One day soon he simply will not wake up. The byden is the most corrupt leader this NATION has ever had in its long history, byden is also the most destructive leader this Nation has ever had as well. Under the TRUMP admin we saw no wars breakout, under the TRUMP admin we saw the strongest economy in about 80 years, under the TRUMP admin there were no new or ongoing wars. On the other hand under byden we have the highest inflation ratein over 70 years, under the byden admin we now have at least 3 wars going and ww3 about to break out, and under byden we have the weakest economy in over 100 years.