Colorado Supreme Court agrees to Trump’s 14th Amendment case

The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal of a state judge’s ruling that allowed former President Donald J. Trump to remain on the state’s primary ballot, in a nationwide battle over his eligibility to run again for the presidency.

Plaintiffs, citing Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, argued that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after taking an oath to to support this.

Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled that Mr. Trump engaged in an insurrection with his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But she still allowed Mr. Trump to remain on the ballot, on the narrow ground that the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment did not apply to the President of the United States.

A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement after Judge Wallace’s ruling last week that it was “another nail in the coffin of the un-American voting challenges.”

The plaintiffs have filed an appeal before the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday evening, and the court agreed to hear the case on an expedited schedule. Mr. Trump’s lawyers must file a brief in the case, as well as oral arguments, by next Monday scheduled to begin on December 6.

Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state and a Democrat, has previously said she would follow the ruling that took effect Jan. 5, 2024, the state’s deadline for certifying candidates to vote for the March 5 primary.

Mario Nicolais, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the fast pace of the trial schedule indicated that “the Supreme Court has taken this with the seriousness it requires,” adding that “we are confident that we will extricate ourselves from the Colorado Supreme Court. will appear in court with a victory and that he can no longer appear on the ballot.”