Should Donald Trump be barred from running again for president because he engaged in an insurrection – the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters?
That is the question before the Supreme Court this week as it hears Trump's appeal of a ruling by Colorado's top court that would keep him off the presidential primary ballot in the state, reports BSS.
It is the most significant election law case to reach the nation's highest court since it halted a vote recount in Florida in 2000 with Republican George W. Bush holding a razor-thin edge over Democrat Al Gore.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, has set aside 80 minutes for oral arguments on Thursday beginning at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) but they are expected to go longer.
The Colorado Supreme Court barred Trump in December from appearing on the Republican primary ballot in the state because of his role in the January 6 attack on Congress.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, appealed to the Supreme Court urging it to throw out the Colorado ruling and bids in other states to keep the former president off the ballot.
"The Court should put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts, which threaten to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans," Trump's attorneys said.
They warned of "chaos and bedlam" if other states "follow Colorado's lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots."
So far only Colorado and Maine, citing the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, have ruled that the 77-year-old Trump is ineligible to appear on the primary ballot.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
