Donald Trump's Colorado ruling "worst decision" he could get: Attorney
Donald Trump's Colorado ruling "worst decision" he could get: Attorney
"As an appeals lawyer, it would be this is the very worst decision Donald Trump could get from the trial court," Neal Katyal said.
Despite keeping him on the presidential ballot, a Colorado judge's ruling could still prove "devastating" for former President Donald Trump, a former solicitor general has said.
Speaking with MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Sunday afternoon, former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said that a Colorado court finding that Trump engaged in insurrection against the government after the 2020 presidential election was "the very worst decision Trump could get."
"There's a factual finding that the judge said, which is that Trump committed insurrection," Katyal said of District Judge Sarah B. Wallace's ruling. "On appeals, the factual findings get massive deference by the appeals court. It's almost impossible to overturn a trial judge's factual finding."
I read the article, but it fails to elaborate on how it’s a worst case scenario for Trump.
How does Colorado finding Trump guilty of insurrection, but not barring him from the ballot, hinder him in any meaningful way?
The article is trying to articulate the doctrine of res judicata, which refers to the significance and deference given to the judge's findings of fact as to whether Trump factually incited the mob and intended to disrupt the certification. It found that he did.
As I understand, Trump is a party to the suit and the matter was fully litigated. Non-partys may now use this finding offensively such as in a civil rights case by the deceased capital police officers' families. The issue of whether Trump incited the riot cannot be relitigate. He did, and other courts must now so find. The issue is precluded.
Not a lawyer, and I agree the article is confusing, but my takeaway is that they will appeal to a higher court and the ruling will hurt him there? Maybe it hurts him in other states too. I think the point of the trial is to take this up to the supreme court, and whether he wins or loses, it was destined to escalate to that level.
If somebody wanted to press the issue a SoS in a state would just flat out say he isnt and force the Trump campaign to sue. Force the SC to take it up due to multiple, conflicting rulings/interpretations of the law. That might be the only way to ensure they do it in a timely manner.
That said, i dont have much faith that the SC in its current composition wouldnt just side with Trump immediately.
Because the legal reasoning for NOT barring him from the ballot is flawed (she claimed he's not an "officer of the United States") and will almost certainly be overturned on appeal and/or in the Colorado Supreme Court. In essence, the judge set the table for Trump to get screwed.
Maybe because Trump being an insurrectionist becomes an established judgement that can be citied in other cases?
Because the logic the judge used in his favor is that the US president is not an officer of the USA, and that’s a very flimsy argument that probably won’t stand up on appeal.
Still no consequences.
I'm not following how it was a factual finding that he did commit insurrection, the Constitution says people who committed insurrection are barred from office, but the court ruled he should stay on the ballot.
The judge stated that the president is not an "official of the United States" which is obviously flawed. So if/when that flawed decision gets overturned on appeal, he is then off the ballot since the facts have already shown he committed insurrection. It turns out that "factual" findings of a case almost never get overturned on appeal, while "legal" findings of the case often are. In essence, this judge put him in "check" and when the legal finding is overturned it will be checkmate.
It could be a legal technicality like the court saying they find him guilty of insurrection but the plaintiff doesn't have standing or the court doesn't have authority to kick him off the ballot, so they're punting up to a higher court. I wish a legal expert would break it down for us lay people.
Maybe because this is simply an attempt to bar him from the primary ballot, and being in the ballot is one thing, but being elected and serving are another.
The judge ruled that the President is not an officer of the Unites States, despite clearly establishing him as the Chief Executive Officer of the Unites States earlier in the case.