Michigan Supreme Court will not block former US President Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot after a group of plaintiffs brought a challenge to disqualify him based on Section 3 of the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. The court stated that they are “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court” in an order posted Wednesday.
Michigan’s Supreme Court denied an application to review a December 14 Michigan Court of Appeals judgment that found that Trump’s placement on primary ballots was permitted by Michigan law. The court also found that it was without jurisdiction to issue a declaration that Trump is disqualified from the presidency pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment. The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision leaves the Court of Appeals judgment in place.
The Michigan Court of Appeals found that whether Trump prevails in the primary process or becomes the Republican nominee for president is a “purely hypothetical question,” and thus the Michigan Court of Appeals is without jurisdiction to issue declaratory judgement. The court said “[Trump] would minimally need to prevail in the primary process” for the issue to be ripe enough for the court to have jurisdiction.
The plaintiffs on consolidated appeal sued Michigan’s Wayne County Election Commission and the Michigan Secretary of State, challenging Trump’s qualifications. They claimed that Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6, 2021 during the Capitol riot and is thus subject to the disqualification under the “Insurrection Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.
One plaintiff sued to block Trump’s name from placement on ballots. Robert LaBrant sued the Wayne County Election Commission, claiming the commission has a statutory duty to determine whether presidential candidates, including Trump, are disqualified from running for or holding office under the Insurrection Clause. The Wayne Circuit Court concluded that the Wayne County Election Commission had no authority to determine whether Trump, or any other candidate, was disqualified under the Insurrection Clause.
Robert Davis, another plaintiff, alleged that because of Trump’s actions from the 2020 presidential election. He claimed that Trump “engaged in insurrection” and should be “disqualified from holding ‘any office, civil or military, under the United States'” and that the president of the US was an “office” under the US as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Davis requested that the Secretary of State issue a declaratory ruling deciding whether Trump was disqualified from appearing on the presidential primary ballot via the Insurrection Clause. His complaint alleged that the Secretary of State had refused the request because the Secretary of State did not believe she had authority to make such a determination.
The lone dissenting justice of the Michigan Supreme Court’s opinion, Justice Elizabeth Welch, believed the issue of Trump’s qualification was ripe for judicial review, and that the issue was justiciable by the Michigan Supreme Court. Ultimately she agreed with lower courts that the Secretary of State was not the proper person to determine whether a presidential candidate was qualified to be on the Michigan presidential ballots.
