Michigan Judge Rules Trump to Remain on 2024 Ballot

Recently, a ruling in Minnesota also confirmed that former President Trump shall remain on the ballot in that state.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just ruled that former President Donald Trump will remain on that state's 2024 presidential ballot, in a ruling based in part on First Amendment arguments by the Minnesota Republican Party.
The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a request Wednesday to bar former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot under the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause that dates to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The ruling came quickly; five justices heard oral arguments on the case last Thursday and sounded skeptical during the 70-minute session.
Chief Justice Natalie Hudson started out saying, "'Should we' is the question that concerns me most." She raised the specter of electoral chaos if 50 state courts decided differently on Trump's eligibility. "So, should we do it?" she asked.

Another, similar case in Colorado, has been allowed to proceed, with a decision expected as early as this week. A similar effort in New Hampshire was stuck down last autumn, while California pols have been trying to work that 14th Amendment angle to exclude President Trump from a ballot in a state he was unlikely to win in the first place.

Here's the really interesting part of the Michigan decision:

Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Redford said in his decision Tuesday that questions about Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection – and whether it constitutionally bars him from returning to the White House – should be addressed by elected representatives in Congress. He ruled that the matter was a “political question” that shouldn’t be decided by the judicial branch.
A court disqualifying Trump would’ve taken that decision away from “a body made up of elected representatives of the people of every state in the nation, and gives it to but one single judicial officer, a person who no matter how well-intentioned, evenhanded, fair and learned, cannot in any manner or form possibly embody the represented qualities of every citizen of the nation,” Redford wrote.

The Constitution, it should be noted, gives state legislatures broad powers over elections, but it should also be noted that the judiciary is not a part of the state legislature; that's the distinction that Judge Redford appears to be drawing here.

In normal circumstances, multiple and related cases such as these three (Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado) would be appealed to the Supreme Court for a final decision, but that august body has already expressed disinterest in hearing these cases.

For now, Donald Trump will remain on the ballot in Michigan, New Hampshire, and Minnesota — and the other states as well. Given his seemingly insurmountable lead in the polls (disclaimer: It's early, and not one primary vote has yet been cast) that would seem to have him fast-tracked to the GOP nomination.

Watch this space for more; we will continue to bring you the latest news on these legal proceedings.

JUDGE JAMES ROBERT REDFORD
Judge Redford was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2018 and has been elected and re-elected in 2020 and 2022.

Prior to his service on the Court, he was the Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and previously served as Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s Chief Legal Counsel from January 2015 until February 2016. Judge Redford was a Kent County Circuit Judge from 2003 until 2015. Prior to his election to the trial bench, he was in private practice with Plunkett Cooney, served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, and was on active duty in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps for five years. In addition to his active duty military service, he served in the Navy Reserves for 23 years in a variety of assignments including commanding officer of the Navy Reserve Trial Judiciary and five years as a trial judge in the Navy & Marine Corps Trial Judiciary. Judge Redford transferred to the retired – reserve list in August 2012 at the rank of Captain.

Judge Redford has been active in many bar and community organizations. He has served on and been chair of the Michigan Supreme Court Model Civil Jury Instructions Committee. In 2022, Judge Redford was appointed by the Judge Advocate General of the Navy to serve an eight-year term as one of 13 members of the Military Justice Review Panel (MJRP). The MJRP is tasked with conducting independent comprehensive and periodic reviews of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and providing reports of these reviews to the Armed Forces Committees of the United States Senate and House of Representatives.

Judge Redford is an Eagle Scout and has been a member of the Boy Scouts of America for over 50 years. He has also served on several nonprofit boards including the Boy Scouts of America, Gerald R. Ford Council and the West Michigan Shores Council of the Girl Scouts of America.

Judge Redford received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1982 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1985. Judge Redford grew up in the city of Detroit and has resided in West Michigan since leaving active duty from the Navy.

Term expires January 1, 2029.

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