Will Baude Responds to Objections to his Section Three Article with Michael Stokes Paulsen

Fighting the Meaning of Section Three

Five and a half months ago, in August 2023, our article on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, The Sweep and Force of Section Three, was accepted for publication by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.

The article's core thesis – that Section Three's disqualification of insurrectionists from office is legally operative, self-executing, sweeping in scope, and likely disqualifies numerous participants in the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election – obviously has enormous implications for our national political life today.  Among other important consequences, it means that former president Donald J. Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, is constitutionally disqualified from holding that or any other covered office, unless and until two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to remove his disqualification.

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  1. The Objection that Enforcing Section Three is "Undemocratic"
  2. The Objection That Enforcing Section Three Would Be Too "Dangerous"
  3. The Objection: "But He Hasn't Been Convicted Of Anything"
  4. The Use and Misuse of Section Three's "Legislative History:" Part I
  5. The Use and Misuse of Section Three's "Legislative History": Part II
  6. Section Three Is Not A "Political Question"
  7. The Objection That It Is Too Soon To Adjudicate Trump's Qualifications
  8. The Facts Matter, Trials Matter, The Record Matters
  9. Is Congress A "Backstop"?

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