If they accepted the idea that the 14th Amedment is self-executing, the Supreme Court would have backed Colorado in booting Trump from the state’s presidential ballot.
Instead, they threw Trump a lifeline, 9-0. They don’t rule on the law, they timidly rule on the political consequences. Via LawDork:
The U.S Supreme Court is expected to release opinions in one or more argued cases on Monday morning. The timing of the announcement strongly suggests a decision is coming in Donald Trump’s appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court decision that the Fourteenth Amendment bars Trump from being president and state law prevents his inclusion on the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s calendar only reflected the change on Sunday — a sign that there was last-minute finalization of a decision allowing its release on Monday. Back and forth over elements of the opinion or more likely disagreements among the majority opinion and concurring and/or dissenting opinions in a case are ordinary, but the court generally announces opinion days at least by the Friday before the week — so a Sunday announcement stands out.
Here’s the 9-0 ruling:
BREAKING: The Supreme Court of the United States declines to disqualify Donald Trump from the presidential primary ballot in Colorado, reversing decision of the Colorado Supreme Court. https://t.co/JQfdWch2T3
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) March 4, 2024
"[The] responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States."
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) March 4, 2024
https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1764668330663715269
SCOTUS Invites Jack Smith to Supercede Trump with Inciting Insurrectionhttps://t.co/VQjiGgnKTv
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 4, 2024
https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1764670525043839289
It’s a win for Trump. At the same time, remember that the Supreme Court’s decision today did not do what Donald Trump had asked: clear him of insurrection. The Colorado court found that he so was, and Trump had an entire section of his SCOTUS brief arguing he was peaceful on 1/6.… https://t.co/8EyBI1IKvc
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) March 4, 2024
Important from the Court's three liberal justices:
"The American people have the power to vote for and elect candidates for national office, and that is a great and glorious thing. The men who drafted and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, however, had witnessed an 'insurrection…
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 4, 2024
