Well, well, well. The US Supreme Court has remained mightily quiet in the days since the Colorado state supreme court ruled Donald Trump ineligible for the presidency via the 14th Amendment disqualifi.
Well, well, well. The US Supreme Court has remained mightily quiet in the days since the Colorado state supreme court ruled Donald Trump ineligible for the presidency via the 14th Amendment disqualification for “insurrection.” Almost everyone expects them to determine the legitimacy of a civil judicial finding of insurrection, but thus far have done nothing to indicate they will even take up the question.
Michigan’s state supreme court may force them into action. Today, the court rejected appeals by plaintiffs to get a civil trial to determine Trump’s status, sticking with the lower court’s ruling that this poses a “political question” rather than a legal question in the absence of a conviction:
With these dueling decisions, the expected appeals to the US Supreme Court become even more critical, especially as the nation races toward the start of the 2024 primaries. Unlike in Colorado, the Michigan lawsuit never reached a trial and was dismissed early on in the process. An intermediate appeals court upheld the decision to toss the case.
The Michigan Court of Claims judge who first got the case said state law doesn’t give election officials any leeway to police the eligibility of presidential primary candidates. He also said the case raised a political question that shouldn’t be decided in the courts.
His decision was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said: “At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election. But as explained, whether Trump is disqualified is irrelevant to his placement on that particular ballot.”
Not only did Michigan courts fail to find Trump civilly guilty of insurrection — more on that point in a moment — but they ruled the entire question legally irrelevant.
