In a landmark 4-3 majority ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court has barred former President Donald Trump to contest the next Presidential Election and also from appearing on the primary ballot for the state’s Republican primary on March 5, 2024. The decision is rooted in Trump’s alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol (US Parliament building) by his supporters. This ruling, likely to be contested in the U.S. Supreme Court, marks the first instance of a presidential candidate being deemed ineligible for the White House under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Section 3, also known as the “insurrection clause”, was enacted after the Civil War to prevent individuals who engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution from holding office. The Colorado court concluded that there was “clear and convincing evidence” of Trump’s engagement in insurrection, specifically citing the Capitol violence during the certification of the 2020 election results.
Trump’s campaign plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Colorado court has delayed the ruling’s effect until at least January 4, 2024, to allow for the appeals process. This case is considered a test for broader efforts to disqualify Trump from state ballots under the 14th Amendment, and it sets the stage for the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, to weigh in on Trump’s eligibility for another presidential term.
While the court’s majority emphasized the gravity of its decision and the duty to apply the law impartially, dissenting justices raised concerns about procedural due process, emphasizing the need for a fair mechanism to determine eligibility. Despite the controversy, Trump remains eligible to run in other Republican primaries, and his campaign views challenges under the 14th Amendment as undemocratic attempts to influence voters’ choices.
Note: In the United States, 50 states have their highest courts as Supreme Court. In India, highest court in a state is known as the High Court. United States has its top court named as Supreme Court of U.S. just like the Supreme Court of India.
