Always amusing.

https://www.bespacific.com/disqualification-of-a-candidate-for-the-presidency-part-ii/

Disqualification of a Candidate for the Presidency, Part II

CRS Legal Sidebar, December 28, 2023: Disqualification of a Candidate for the Presidency, Part II: Examining Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment as It Applies to Ballot Access: “Numerous lawsuits across the country have sought or are seeking to prevent former President Donald Trump from appearing on state ballots for the upcoming presidential elections. In particular, these suits, filed in both state and federal courts, are requesting that various secretaries of state exclude the former President from the states’ ballots for the upcoming presidential primary and general elections. Plaintiffs allege that Trump’s efforts to impede the congressional certification of the 2020 electoral college vote by, among other things, urging his supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, amount to “engag[ing] in insurrection” within the meaning of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs contend that the former President is therefore disqualified as a candidate for the presidency. Many of the lawsuits challenging Trump’s ability to be placed on state ballots have been dismissed by courts on jurisdictional grounds without reaching the merits of the constitutional claims. On December 19, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court became the first court to hold that former President Trump is ineligible to appear on the ballot because he is constitutionally disqualified from holding the office of the President, and the court directed the Colorado secretary of state to exclude the former President’s name from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot. That decision has been stayed until January 4, potentially enabling Trump the opportunity to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court before it goes into effect. (As of the date of this Sidebar, the Colorado Republican State Central Committee has reportedly filed a petition of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the state court ruling.)..”

(Related)

https://www.bespacific.com/tracking-section-3-trump-disqualification-challenges/

Tracking Section 3 Trump Disqualification Challenges

Lawfaremedia.org: “Almost immediately after Jan. 6, 2021, legal commentators began debating whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment could be used to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running in the 2024 presidential election. They discussed, in particular, whether or not Section 3 applies to a former president, whether it is self-executing, and whether Jan. 6 could be considered an insurrection or rebellion. Since then, the issue has become less abstract, though no less contentious. In February 2021, the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump of an impeachment article for inciting insurrection, but with a bipartisan majority of the Senate voting to convict. Section 3 challenges have been mounted against several legislators, and one state-level county commissioner who participated in the attack was successfully ousted from his post under that provision. At the end of 2022, the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol made the argument that Trump did inspire an insurrection, referring him to the Justice Department for prosecution under multiple criminal statutes, including one prohibiting insurrection. The Special Counsel’s Office has since brought a criminal case in Washington, D.C. charging Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. And some prominent legal conservatives have made the case for a strong, originalist reading of Section 3 that they argue would apply to Trump, immediately disqualifying him from office. Beginning in winter 2023, voters and advocacy groups have brought Section 3 challenges in courts across the country, attempting to block Trump’s name from appearing on ballots for state primaries and caucuses before the general election begins. On Dec. 19, the Colorado Supreme Court became the first in the nation to rule that Trump is disqualified under Section 3 and cannot be listed as a candidate on the state’s primary ballot. Petitions for certiorari are currently pending in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. This page is intended to track which states have active Section 3 litigation to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot. At the bottom is a selected reading of Lawfare‘s coverage on the issue. Note that the procedural posture and legal theories behind these challenges vary greatly, and a dismissal in any particular action does not necessarily bar other challenges from being brought in that same state.”

See also Vox: “The Supreme Court arguments for (and against) removing Trump from the ballot, explained. The Constitution has a right to defend itself, but Trump also has a right to due process.”