Nature Of The Case

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Facts

Ps, Four Republican and two unaffiliated Colorado voters filed a petition against former President Trump (D) and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in Colorado state court. Ps contend that after D's defeat in the 2020 Presidential election, he disrupted the peaceful transfer of power by intentionally organizing and inciting the crowd that breached the Capitol as Congress met to certify the election results on January 6, 2021. Ps maintain that D is constitutionally ineligible to serve as President again. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 3 provides: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” Ps claim D intentionally incited the breaching of the Capitol on January 6 in order to retain power. They claim that D cannot be a qualified candidate for the Presidency in 2024 and that the Colorado secretary of state may not place him on the primary ballot. The state District Court found that D had “engaged in insurrection” within the meaning of Section 3, but nonetheless denied Ps’ petition. The court held that Section 3 did not apply because the Presidency, which Section 3 does not mention by name, is not an “office . . . under the United States” and the President is not an “officer of the United States” within the meaning of that provision. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part by a 4 to 3 vote. The majority concluded that for purposes of Section 3, the Presidency is an office under the United States and the President is an officer of the United States. The court otherwise affirmed, holding (1) that the Colorado Election Code permitted the Ps’ challenge based on Section 3; (2) that Congress need not pass implementing legislation for disqualifications under Section 3 to attach; (3) that the political question doctrine did not preclude judicial review of D’s eligibility; (4) that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting into evidence portions of a congressional Report on the events of January 6; (5) that the District Court did not err in concluding that those events constituted an “insurrection” and that D “engaged in” that insurrection; and (6) that D’s speech to the crowd that breached the Capitol on January 6 was not protected by the First Amendment. The Colorado Supreme Court ordered Secretary Griswold not to “list D’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot” or “count any write-in votes cast for him.” D appealed.

Issues

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Rule Of Law

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Holding & Decision

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Legal Analysis

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