Colorado Supreme Court justices defend Trump: “There was no fair trial”

The Colorado Supreme Court justices who would keep former President Donald Trump on the ballot raised concerns about whether due process was followed.

On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision to bar Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot. The Colorado justices found he was disqualified under a constitutional provision originally intended to keep Confederate officials from gaining power.

The lawsuit argued that Trump engaged in an insurrection surrounding the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol, an argument that courts in Minnesota and Michigan have rejected. Trump will appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which the Colorado high court acknowledged.

Justice Carlos Samour took particular issue with how the proceedings unfolded. He argued that Trump hasn’t been charged under a statute that would bar him from office for engaging in an insurrection, so he hasn’t had the constitutional rights that would have been afforded him as a criminal defendant.

“There was no fair trial either,” Samour wrote, pointing to Trump not having the opportunity to request a jury of his peers. “I have been involved in the justice system for thirty-three years now, and what took place here doesn’t resemble anything I’ve seen in a courtroom.”

Samour also took issue with the district court’s handling of the case. He disagreed with the district court not allowing experts to be deposed and the decision to limit expert testimony. He likened the case to fitting a square peg into a round hole, which the district court allowed, writing that it was a “procedural Frankenstein.”

“In my view, what transpired in this litigation fell woefully short of what due process demands,” Samour wrote.

Trump has fought the cases against him, arguing they’re all part of a witch hunt to keep him from winning the presidency. In a statement to Newsweek, Steven Cheung, his spokesperson, called it a “scheme to interfere in an election” on behalf of President Joe Biden.

“Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November,” Cheung said.

A district judge previously found that Trump did incite an insurrection for his role in the January 6 attack, but that he couldn’t be barred from the ballot. In overturning the district judge’s ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court wrote that they didn’t reach the conclusions “lightly.” However, they said they were bound by their “solemn duty to apply the law” and to not let public opinion impact that.

Trump could still win the presidency without being on the ballot in Colorado. It’s a Democratic stronghold and he lost by 13 points in 2020. However, if other states reach the same conclusion as Colorado, Trump could be excluded from a state that could be make-or-break for his ability to win the 2024 election.

Chief Justice Brian Boatright argued in his dissent that the case didn’t have merit and that Trump wasn’t afforded due process because of how the trial played out. He wrote that the court did not follow the timeline required because delays violated a requirement that hearings be held within five days of the challenge being lodged and that the district court issued its order within 48 hours of the hearing.

The challenge was filed on September 6 and a hearing was held on October 30. Boatright argued that the timeline couldn’t be met because the case was too complex.

“From my perspective, just because a hearing was held and Intervenors participated, it doesn’t mean that due process was observed,” Boatwright wrote.