State court in Maine update

On Wednesday, a state court in Maine declared that she would wait for the Supreme Court to rule on a similar case involving Colorado before deciding whether the state should exclude former President Donald Trump off the primary ballot.

On December 28, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows unilaterally declared that Trump was not qualified to run for president. Trump had contested this ruling.

Following oral arguments on February 8, Maine Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy remanded the case to Bellows’ office pending a decision by the top court.

In the weeks leading up to the primary election, [this] will foster greater predictability and lessen the potentially unstable impact of inconsistent decisions, according to Murphy.

Murphy said, “The Court concludes that a remand is necessary because many of the issues presented in this case are likely to be resolved, narrowed, or rendered moot by the Supreme Court’s decision in [Colorado].”

Ideally, it will at least make clear what, if any, part state decision-makers—such as secretaries of state and state court officers—play in deciding cases involving claims of disqualification made in accordance with Fourteenth Amendment Section Three.

Murphy also rejected Trump’s plea to halt further legal action in the case, claiming she lacked the authority to do so.

March 5 is when the Republican primary elections in Maine and Colorado will take place.

Dec. 20, the Colorado Supreme Court declared that Trump was unable to run for office because of his activities during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, which violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Insurrection Clause or Disqualification Clause.

The clause forbids people found guilty of “insurrection or rebellion” from being appointed to positions of authority.

Other states, including as New Hampshire, Oregon, Michigan, and Minnesota, have rejected challenges to Trump’s eligibility.

Trump’s resounding victory in Monday’s Iowa caucus makes him the clear frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.

Justice Michaela Murphy of the superior court in Augusta stated in a 17-page ruling that a judgment made by Democratic Secretary of State Shella Bellows in December had to be put on hold until the Supreme Court makes a ruling regarding the Colorado dispute.

Murphy noted that the primary in Maine is set for March 5 and stated that “eligible Maine voters who wish to cast their vote for President Trump in the primary will be able to do so, with the winner being determined by ranked-choice voting, unless the Supreme Court finds President Trump disqualified to hold the office of president before that date.”

According to her, Maine law gives her the power to remand the case to Bellows and direct her to deliver a new decision following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Colorado case. Murphy allowed the secretary of state to release a new ruling “modifying, withdrawing or confirming” her first assessment of Trump’s fitness for office, thirty days after the highest court in the country weighed in.

Considering the other dispute raises numerous federal concerns, Murphy stated, “it would be imprudent for this court to be the first court in Maine to address them.”

“Put simply, the United States Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Colorado case changes everything about the order in which these issues should be decided, and by which court,” she wrote. “And while it is impossible to know what the Supreme Court will decide, hopefully it will at least clarify what role, if any, state decision-makers, including secretaries of state and state judicial officers, play in adjudicating claims of disqualification brought under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.”

This has taken an interesting turn as President Donald Trump is now projecting himself as a potential candidate for the US Presidential race.