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February 8, 2024 12:33 PM ET
Here’s what you need to know about the arguments made by lawyers on behalf of Colorado voters
From CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Caitlin Polantz, Jon Fritze, Marshall Cohen and Jeremy Herb
Jason Murray walked past protesters outside the Supreme Court on Thursday morning.
Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Jason Murray, an attorney representing a group of Colorado voters challenging Donald Trump’s 2024 voting eligibility before the Supreme Court, finished his argument after nearly an hour.
Here are the key moments to know:
The justices focused on eligibility to vote on January 6th. Although Justice Murray argued that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was unprecedented and rose to the level of an insurrection, many justices in this case distanced themselves from the facts of the attack. It was focused on the problem of becoming. When states determine voting eligibility.
Much of the cross-examination of Trump’s lawyer Jonathan Mitchell also focused on similar broad questions about state power and how the 14th Amendment would allow Colorado to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot. It revolved around this point.
History of the 14th Amendment: Chief Justice John Roberts suggested that one of the main arguments raised by Murray was that the 14th Amendment’s insurrectionist ban, which is at the center of this case, is “at war” with its history. did.
“The point of the 14th Amendment was to limit state power,” Roberts said. “Meanwhile, the powers of the federal government have increased.”
The justices were concerned about the power of a single state. Several justices expressed skepticism about whether a single state should have the power to decide which candidates can appear on the national ballot. Justice Elena Kagan asked, “Why should a country have the ability to make this decision not just for its own people, but for the nation as well?” and said, “That’s highly unusual.” .
Justice Amy Coney Barrett echoed those concerns, adding: “I don’t think it’s a state mandate.”
Murray argued that states still have the power to decide what goes on their own ballots, regardless of what officials in other states decide.
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