Americans are hoping the courts will spare them an electoral reckoning with Trump | Lawrence Douglas

Donald Trump reacted to the ruling of the Colorado supreme court with a statement that implied the birth of dictatorships. The court decided that due to his disqualification from holding office, the former president should not participate in the Republican primary ballot in the state.

Whenever Trump talks about "dictatorships" nowadays, it's important to listen up. He seems to be hinting at his desire to rule like a dictator if he becomes president again in 2024. We're not sure if his recent statement, which was sent out in a fundraising email right after the news broke, was meant to criticize the current government or to say how he would handle similar legal setbacks if he were back in the White House.

Many fearful Americans hope that the courts will prevent Trump from using his presidency to punish political opponents, as he has hinted at in the past, and save the country from the possibility of suffering under a dictatorship. Although Biden's poll numbers are lower than expected, Trump has been able to use the charges against him to bolster his fundraising. However, this does not necessarily mean that Trump will win the popular vote in the next election. Unfortunately, the flawed Electoral College system could potentially award Trump the presidency once again.

The anticipation that our court system will protect us from the weaknesses of our voting system and our personal shortcomings as democratic members persists. However, regardless of how reasonable this belief may be, it was not affirmed by the verdict given yesterday. The reason for this isn't due to the Colorado supreme court making an incorrect judgment.

The decision made by the court was courageous and accurate, as it relied on its interpretation of the insurrection clause in the 14th amendment. Previously, a court in Colorado had determined that Trump had participated in an insurrection on January 6th, 2021. However, this court had decided that the section of the 14th amendment that prevents insurrectionists from holding office did not apply to the presidency.

The Colorado supreme court found it easy to dismiss the idea that the 14th amendment, which came after the civil war, disqualifies every person who broke an oath except for the most important one, and that it prevents them from holding almost any position in state or federal government except for the very highest one. They deemed this argument to be illogical.

Therefore, the court determined that Trump is "ineligible to serve as President" and directed the Colorado secretary of state to take his name off the ballot for the presidential primary.

The truth is that there was no consensus among the seven judges on this matter. Three of them expressed their doubts about the possibility of disqualifying Trump without a prior conviction of insurrection. The court decided to delay its decision until the beginning of 2024, as Trump had already declared he would appeal. It's highly likely that this divisive issue will end up being dealt with by the highest court in the land, the US Supreme Court.

What will the court do? In a perfect scenario, they would support the Colorado verdict and do so with complete agreement. Such a decision would need to come from a court consisting of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointed by Donald Trump, as well as Clarence Thomas, who is morally controversial and ideologically inflexible, as his partner was heavily involved in the "stop the steal" campaign. This is the only way that the court could weather the chaos and turbulence that would come with such a significant ruling.

However, if the court chooses not to get involved, it will be perceived as highly biased. Trump has submitted a plea of "absolute immunity" from prosecution to the court. If accepted, this would result in his federal trial in Washington DC scheduled for 4 March 2024, for conspiring to defraud the United States by trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, being thrown off track. Additionally, the court has agreed to examine the extent of the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding by January 6 insurgents, a crucial aspect of the federal case against Trump.

It's difficult to picture the court agreeing with Trump's extremely wide immunity argument, but it's more likely that they will rule in a way that could help Trump's usual legal tactic of postponement. Therefore, although the supreme court may avoid confronting Trump, the American people will not be able to avoid the consequences.

Lawrence Douglas is a skilled writer who has recently released a book titled Will He Go? Trump and the Approaching Election Chaos in 2020. He also shares his opinions as a guest writer in the Guardian US and serves as an instructor at Amherst College.