Both the original petitioners and President Trump have appealed the case.
The Colorado Supreme Court accepted an appeal to a lower court’s decision to put former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot, scheduling oral arguments for Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
“The Court accepts the cross-applications,” the order reads.
On Nov. 17, Colorado 2nd District Court Judge Sarah Wallace ruled in a 100-page opinion that Trump had “engaged” in an “insurrection” in the events of Jan. 6, 2021, but she said this was not grounds for disqualification because Section 3 of the 14th Amendment does not apply to U.S. presidents. The filing ended in a one-line order that Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold put President Trump on the Republican primary ballot as a candidate.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which had brought the petition against Ms. Griswold on behalf of six local voters, immediately announced their intention to appeal the decision. On Nov. 20, they filed an appeal, and President Trump’s team filed their own petition for relief the same day. Late Nov. 21, the Colorado Supreme Court accepted the case.
President Trump is an intervenor in the case that names Ms. Griswold as a defendant, and his attorneys had taken the lead in the 17-hour trial heard in the district court, calling forth and cross-examining witnesses, and making the bulk of the arguments against petitioners. The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered the intervenors to file their opening answer brief by Nov. 27. Petitioners will need to file any answer-reply brief by Dec. 1, and President Trump can file a reply to that no later than Dec. 4.
Constitutional Accountability Center and Constitutional Law Professor Mark A. Graber had requested to file an amicus brief, and the court will allow his and any other amici briefs to be filed by Nov. 29.
The oral arguments will be limited to one hour per side, with one attorney allowed to argue per side, unless parties file a specific motion to split their time with an additional attorney in their team. The case is on an expedited timeline, as affects the primary ballots that need to be certified by Jan. 5, 2024, by the state secretary’s office.
