Law Prof: Colo. Supreme Court Ruling Disqualifying Trump from Ballot ‘Strikingly Anti-Democratic’

December 20, 2023

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley said yesterday’s Colorado Supreme Court ruling that disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s presidential ballot, “strikingly anti-democratic.”

In Tuesday’s 4-3 ruling, the court majority cited the U.S. Capitol events of Jan. 6, 2021 as an “insurrection” and thus disqualified Trump under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The decisions is stayed until January 4, 2024 due to anticipated appeals.

Turley reacted to the Colorado court ruling in a thread posted on X, formerly Twitter:

…This ends a string of losses for advocates of this dangerous novel theory. They finally found a court that would embrace what the court admits is a case of "first impression." My first impression remains that same. The court is dead wrong in my view…https://t.co/lGhv9je2a7

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 19, 2023

…The opinion is remarkable in how the four justices adopted the most sweeping interpretations to get over each barrier. The result is lack of a limiting principle. I view the opinion as strikingly anti-democratic in what it now allows states to do in blue and red states alike.

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 20, 2023

Turley is the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School. He has written extensively on constitutional law and is a regular legal analyst for NBC News, CBS News, the BBC, and Fox News. Turley has also worked as counsel on prominent Federal cases and has been ranked among the nation’s top 500 lawyers.