Earlier this week, the Colorado State Supreme Court determined in a 4-3 ruling that Trump is ineligible under the 14th Amendment to appear on the ballot in the state. This nonsensical ruling essentially declares that even though Trump has never been convicted of, much less tried with sedition or participating in an insurrection, he is nevertheless guilty of such. The ruling is bound to be taken up by the Supreme Court, and experts on both sides of the aisle believe it will be promptly overturned.
But that doesn't change the fact that four justices in the highest court in the state of Colorado voted so egregiously. But there's something that might explain why.
Of course, the obvious thing is that the justices who sided against Trump were all appointed by Democrats. But even that doesn't fully explain everything because all seven of the justices were Democrat-appointed. But, there is something that separately the 4 justices who voted to ban Trump from ballot and the three who didn't.
Three of the four justices who voted against Trump were Ivy League graduates.
"The four Democratic-appointed justices who ruled to nix Trump from the primary ballot included three Ivy League graduates, showing a stark divide between the legal mindsets of those who were educated at elite institutions compared to the three justices who said they would not remove the Republican front-runner from the state's ballot," reports the Washington Examiner. "Three justices who said they wouldn't bar Trump from the ballot, Carlos Samour, Maria Berkenkotter, and Chief Justice Brian Boatright, all attended Sturm College of Law in Denver."
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As for the justices who voted to boot Trump from the ballot, Justice Monica Marquez not only got her law degree from Yale, but is the first Latina and openly LGBT justice to serve on the court. "She also worked as an assistant solicitor general and as assistant attorney general in both the Public Officials Unit and Criminal Appellate Section before she was appointed to the state's high court in 2010," explains the Washington Examiner. "The justice is also a member of the Bench Dream Team, which is a group of judges in the Colorado judicial system that promotes diversity and inclusion."
Let's keep going, shall we?
Justice Richard Gabriel holds a bachelor's degree in American studies from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. His legal career, primarily in commercial and intellectual property law, led to his appointment to the state Supreme Court in June 2015.
Justice Melissa Hart pursued her undergraduate studies at Harvard-Radcliffe and later returned to Harvard for her law degree. Appointed to the high court in December 2017, she also works as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School and the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law.
The only member of the majority that voted to disqualify Trump from the ballot was Justice William W. Hood III. While Hood may not be an Ivy Leaguer, he has donated more than $5,000 to Democratic candidates and organizations. All of the justices in the majority have donated to Democrats or appear to be left-wing activists. According to FEC records, none of the dissenting justices made donations to Democrats running for office.
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