Thursday, February 1, 2024

Mark Graber: The politics of disqualification - Balkinization

Balkinization: The politics of disqualification

Mark Graber

A Supreme Court deciding on political grounds alone would be at least as inclined to disqualify former President Donald Trump as allow him to remain on the ballot in all fifty states.  A judicial decision declaring Trump ineligible for present and future offices in the United States because he engaged in an insurrection after taking an oath of office might strengthen the Roberts Court’s appearance of bipartisanship, weaken opposition to courts among Democrats, enable the Republican Party to nominate a candidate with more appeal to independents, forestall violence, and rid American politics of a particularly despicable figure.  Marty Lederman has ably described the political reasons why the Supreme Court might want to avoid disqualification.  The following sets out the at very least equally compelling political reasons that might encourage the court to disqualify Trump.  The precise weight of these reasons and the extent to which the Court will rely on more political than legal reasons, of course, are anyone’s guess.

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