For months I’ve listened to politicians on both sides of the aisle say that our judicial system is being weaponized. From the State courts to our country’s Supreme Court, they’ve all been blamed for bias and dishonesty. It’s no wonder there is so much lack of respect for law enforcement and the rule of law by so many of today’s citizens, i.e., they think “if the privileged and supposed law makers don’t believe in the legal system, why should we?”
Recently, I was disappointed that all the Republican candidates for President felt that the Colorado Supreme Court had stepped out of line when issuing a ruling that Donald Trump should not be allowed on the 2024 State Ballot. None of the Republican candidates were brave enough to praise the Colorado State Supreme Court for doing their job in an unbiased and conscientious fashion, which is in my opinion what took place. Instead they all denounced the court system for their own political gains.
The Colorado Supreme Court had the responsibility to rule on this matter when they were handed a ruling from a lower court that concluded that Donald Trump could remain on the 2024 ballot in Colorado; and the plaintiffs in the matter contested this outcome which then brought the issue to the State’s Supreme Court. The case had originally been introduced to the Colorado court system by a group of electors eligible to vote in Colorado. The electors believed that Donald Trump should not be allowed to run for the Presidency since he was involved in an insurrection that took place on January 6, 2021, resulting in him becoming ineligible for the Presidency due to Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lower court found “using clear and convincing evidence” that Donald Trump had engaged in insurrection, but that Section Three did not apply to the President, and thus he should be allowed on the State ballot. This conclusion of the lower court was then appealed to the State’s Supreme Court. Thus it became their job to consider the lower court’s ruling and whether it was appropriate. After careful consideration, they affirmed part of the lower court’s ruling in that they agreed that Donald Trump had engaged in insurrection, but then they disagreed with the portion of the lower court’s ruling that said the position of President of the United States was not subject to Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. A majority of judges on the State’s Supreme Court believed that the Fourteenth Amendment did apply to the office of the President and that it was “self-executing”, meaning that additional guidance was not needed from Congress regarding the matter. There is much more detail provided in the opinion paper issued by the Colorado State Supreme Court which can easily be obtained from the internet (see sources shown below). I agree with the ruling made by this court. However, I would have also supported them even if they had ruled that the lower court was completely correct and that Trump ‘was’ eligible to be on the State’s 2024 Ballot. It’s because I still respect our country’s legal system. It may have flaws that need resolved, but it is made up primarily of good people who are doing their job to the best of their ability, and I can’t blame them for that. I just wish our political leaders would allow the legal system to function as designed and to stop tearing it down without justification simply to suit their own political motives.
