The 14th Amendment to the Constitution bans anyone who ā€œengaged in insurrection or rebellion againstā€ the U.S. from holding office.

A Florida lawyer is suing Donald Trump in an attempt to disqualify his current run for president. Lawrence A. Caplanā€™s Thursday lawsuit claims that the ex-presidentā€™s involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot would make him ineligible to run again, thanks to the Constitutionā€™s 14th Amendmentā€”a Civil War-era addition aimed at preventing those who ā€œengaged in insurrection or rebellion againstā€ the U.S. from holding office. ā€œNow given that the facts seem to be crystal clear that Trump was involved to some extent in the insurrection that took place on January 6th, the sole remaining question is whether American jurists who swear an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution upon their entry to the bench, will choose to follow the letter of the Constitution in this case,ā€ the lawsuit says, also citing Trumpā€™s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Legal experts say itā€™s an uphill battle to argue in court, since the amendment has hardly been exercised in modern history. ā€œRealistically, itā€™s not a Hail Mary, but itā€™s just tossing the ball up and hoping it lands in the right place,ā€ Charles Zelden, a professor of history and legal studies at Nova Southeastern University, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

archive link to South Florida Sun Sentinel article: https://archive.ph/1BntD

  • sycamore@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    So now weā€™ll have a supreme court ruling that what Trump did was not an insurrection. Great.

    • BigNote@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      If it gets to the SCOTUS, and thatā€™s a very big if, they can easily make a ruling favorable to Trump without ever touching the question of whether or not he engaged in insurrection. Iā€™m not any kind of expert, but as a long time amateur SCOTUS-watcher I think thatā€™s almost certainly what the conservative majority would do. Youā€™d only see the question of insurrection mentioned in the dissenting opinion.