The Supreme Court, in a surprise notice Sunday, said it will issue one or more decisions this morning. That means there is a good chance (but not a guarantee) that it will decide the case challenging Donald Trump’s constitutional qualifications to run for the Presidency this year.
The Court customarily announces in advance when it will issue rulings on cases it has heard, but it does not disclose which decisions.
Among the reasons the Court might have for handing down the Trump candidacy ruling today is that Colorado — the state where this dispute arose — will hold its primary election tomorrow (along with 14 other states). Although it would be too late to alter the Colorado ballot, a decision today would at least indicate that the Court attempted to act before Colorado voters cast their ballots.
Another reason is that the Court has been reviewing the candidacy question on an expedited basis, and more than three weeks have passed since it held a hearing last month. It may not have wanted to delay further.
At the hearing on February 8, the clear indication was that the Court probably would not allow states to keep Trump off of their primary ballots. Even if the case turns out that way, the reasoning the Court uses will be an important interpretation of a part of the Constitution never before considered.
Although the case technically deals only with Colorado’s ballot access, two other states — Illinois and Maine — have acted against Trump’s candidacy and a final ruling by the Court probably will apply to all 50 states.
The state officials and state courts that have decided the qualification issue relied upon a 156-year-old section of the 14th Amendment. That section applied at the time (1868) to former Confederate soldiers and government officers who had rebelled against the Constitution by waging war or insurrection.
The Court will act today without going to the bench, which is its usual practice when it is issuing fully considered decisions. The Court gave no reason for not doing so today.
The decision or decisions will be released to the public at 10 a.m. (More on this site later.)
