The Supreme Court, in an unusual Sunday update to its schedule, did not specify what ruling it would issue. But the justices on Feb. 8 heard arguments in Trump's appeal of the Colorado ruling and are due to issue their own decision.
US Supreme Court to issue ruling; Trump ballot case looms
- The court appears likely to reject Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution, according to legal experts, but its decision to spend months on the matter could aid his quest to regain the presidency by further delaying a monumental criminal trial.
On its website, the Supreme Court said it will release an order list on Monday, Mar. 4—the day before Colorado’s state primary is set to take place alongside several other states, a primary season event known as Super Tuesday.
The high court said in a statement on its website that it “may release opinions beginning at 10 a.m.” Monday, but won’t take the bench.
- The justices are not scheduled to take the bench again until Mar. 15.
Trump is currently set to appear on the Colorado ballot despite a ruling made by the state Supreme Court, which declared that Trump is ineligible to run in the race because his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots amounted to “insurrection.”
- Oral arguments last month suggested the justices were skeptical about banning Mr Trump from the ballot and they are widely expected to rule in his favor.
- He is expected to sweep the Super Tuesday states to make victory over his Republican rival Nikki Haley all but certain.
- The court is taking up a second Trump case, whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took as president.
- That decision will have far-reaching consequences as he faces several criminal trials.
Supreme Court decision in Trump ballot case could come Monday
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court decision could come as soon as Monday in the case about whether former President Donald Trump can be kicked off the ballot over his efforts to undo his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump is challenging a groundbreaking decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that said he is disqualified from being president again and ineligible for the state’s primary, which is Tuesday.
The resolution of the case on Monday, a day before Super Tuesday contests in 16 states, would remove uncertainty about whether votes for Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president, will ultimately count. Both sides had requested fast work by the court, which heard arguments less than a month ago, on Feb. 8.
The Colorado court was the first to invoke a post-Civil War constitutional provision aimed at preventing those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. Trump also has since been barred from primary ballot in Illinois and Maine, though both decisions, along with Colorado’s, are on hold pending the outcome of the Supreme Court case.
The Supreme Court has until now never ruled on the provision, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The court indicated Sunday there will be at least one case decided Monday, adhering to its custom of not saying which one. But it also departed from its usual practice in some respects, heightening the expectation that it’s the Trump ballot case that will be handed down.
Except for when the end of the term nears in late June, the court almost always issues decisions on days when the justices are scheduled to take the bench. But the next scheduled court day isn’t until March 15. And apart from during the coronavirus pandemic when the court was closed, the justices almost always read summaries of their opinions in the courtroom. They won’t be there Monday.
Any opinions will post on the court’s website beginning just after 10 a.m. EST Monday.
Separately, the justices last week agreed to hear arguments in late April over whether Trump can be criminally prosecuted on election interference charges, including his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The court’s decision to step into the politically charged case, also with little in the way of precedent to guide it, calls into question whether Trump will stand trial before the November election.
The former president faces 91 criminal charges in four prosecutions. Of those, the only one with a trial date that seems poised to hold is his state case in New York, where he’s charged with falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to a porn actor. That case is set for trial on March 25, and the judge has signaled his determination to press ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment