The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday unanimously handed former President Donald Trump a landslide victory, overturning a Colorado Supreme Court decision and revoking a ruling in all 50 states that he said violated the 14th Amendment. The court ruled that he could remain on the vote.
Only Congress, not the states, can enforce this law. 14th Amendment, the court ruled. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits individuals from holding certain positions if they have “participated in rebellion or insurrection” against the United States. It was added to the Constitution after the Civil War.
A group of Colorado voters claimed President Trump violated the Amendment with his actions on January 6, 2021. The Colorado Supreme Court sided with the voters, and Trump’s lawyers appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are reversing because the Constitution makes Congress, not the states, responsible for enforcing Article III against federal officials and candidates.” court It was ruled 9-0, but no signatures were signed. (Four judges issued concurring opinions).
This decision was not surprising. During oral argument, a majority of the justices expressed skepticism about the Colorado Superior Court’s decision. The lawsuit was filed by four Republican voters and two independent voters in Colorado.
The Supreme Court’s decision referred to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, stating, “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate laws.”
“This case raises the question of whether states, in addition to Congress, can enforce Title III,” the court ruled. “We conclude that a state may disqualify a person holding or seeking to hold state office. However, each state has a constitutional right to Article 3 regarding federal office, particularly the presidential office. I have no authority to force you to do so.”
The decision quotes a senator from the 1800s and says that Article V “imposes a responsibility on Congress to ensure that, for the future, all provisions of the amendments are faithfully implemented.”
If the Supreme Court were to leave the Colorado decision alone, “a single candidate could be declared ineligible in some states, based on the same conduct (and presumably the same factual record), but in others.” There is a good chance that this will not be the case.” Said.
Four judges issued concurring opinions.
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson agreed with the court’s decision but said they believed the opinion was overreached.
“While we agree that Colorado cannot enforce Article III, we object to the majority’s efforts to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of that provision,” they wrote. . “We only decide on the issue at hand, so we only agree with the verdict.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett also issued a concurring opinion. Colorado’s decision “need not address the complex question of whether federal law is the only means of enforcing Title III,” she wrote.
“All nine justices agree with the outcome of this case,” she wrote. “That’s the message Americans should take home.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images/Douglas Rissing
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
