Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows misplaced one other try to drive evaluation of her disqualification “resolution” earlier than the US Supreme Courtroom hears arguments on the difficulty on Feb. eighth. The Maine Supreme Courtroom declined to evaluation the matter. With different states like Massachusetts ruling this week in opposition to disqualification, Colorado will stay the outlier as the one state supreme courtroom keen to embrace this harmful and anti-democratic idea.
I’ve beforehand written about my criticism of this unfounded idea. Advocates have been rejected in a dozen states, however have continued to hunt judges keen to just accept this novel argument. They knew that they had Bellows at hiya given her prior public feedback.
Bellows beforehand declared that “the Jan. 6 rebellion was an illegal try to overthrow the outcomes of a free and honest election…The insurrectionists failed, and democracy prevailed.” A 12 months after the riot, Bellows was nonetheless denouncing the “violent rebellion.”
The choice is poorly written and conclusory in just about each respect. A pair weeks in the past, Maine Superior Courtroom Justice Michaela Murphy deferred judgment, within the case given the upcoming argument over the Colorado resolution.
Bellows appealed however the justices famous that Murphy had solely deferred judgment. He had not dominated. Thus, “as a result of the enchantment will not be from a remaining judgment, we dismiss the enchantment as interlocutory and never justiciable.”
So the Maine occasion is not going to occur.
That leaves Colorado the place, on a courtroom completely composed of Democratically appointed justices, advocates may solely safe a 4-3 ruling with a vigorous dissent. Courts in extremely liberal states like Massachusetts and Michigan have dominated in opposition to disqualification.
Within the meantime, over half of the states have now filed to denounce this idea and ask the Supreme Courtroom to reverse Colorado.
