The Colorado Supreme Court released a ruling Tuesday that disqualifies former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot. The court’s decision utilized Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to disqualify Trump from running for office.
In its 4-3 decision Tuesday night, the Colorado Supreme Court wrote, “A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”
According to The Associated Press, the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is the first time a presidential candidate has been disqualified by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The decision, made by all Democrat-appointed state supreme court justices, quickly received criticism from many political candidates and legal experts across the country; however, the Colorado Supreme Court claimed that Tuesday’s decision was made carefully.
“We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us,” the Colorado Supreme Court’s majority wrote. “We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
According to CNN, the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision upheld the previous ruling of a trial judge who claimed Trump participated in insurrection by not accepting the 2020 presidential election results; however, it overturned the judge’s ruling that the 14th Amendment’s ban did not clearly apply to the presidency.
READ MORE: Trump case, many Jan. 6 cases hinge on new Supreme Court decision
Arguing against the lower court’s decision, the Colorado Supreme Court’s majority claimed that it did not make sense that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment would prevent “every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land.”
Chief Justice Brian Boatright, one of the three Colorado Supreme Court judges who dissented against the majority Tuesday, claimed that the case should not be determined at the state level and that “due process” should be considered before disqualifying a candidate.
Boatright wrote, “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past — dare I say, engaged in insurrection — there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”
According to the Associated Press, the court’s decision is stayed either until Jan. 4 or when the U.S. Supreme Court provides a ruling on the case.
In response to Tuesday’s ruling, Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, released a statement, saying, “Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group’s scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump’s name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice.”
The Trump campaign claimed that the decision comes as Democrat leaders are “in a state of paranoia” regarding the former president’s “dominant lead” in the 2024 election polls. Trump’s campaign also announced it will “swiftly” submit an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court with regard to Colorado’s “undemocratic decision.”
“We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” Cheung wrote.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
