The U.S. Supreme Court has released its decision in Trump v. United States regarding presidential immunity in the case involving President Trump’s actions on January 6, 2020.
The court did issue some major rulings about immunity but chose not to issue a direct ruling in Trump’s specific case at this time, kicking it back down to the lower courts. The high court said the lower courts simply hadn’t finished the job.
That move will extend the delay in special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal case against Trump, essentially ending prospects that he could be tried before the November election.
Chief Justice John Roberts explained why the high court was sending the case back, writing, “The lower courts rendered their decisions on a highly expedited basis” and “did not analyze the conduct alleged in the indictment to decide which of it should be categorized as official and which unofficial,” according to analysts at SCOTUSblog.
Historic Ruling on Presidential Immunity
The Supreme Court did make several statements about immunity before it ordered lower courts to figure out how to apply the decision to Trump’s case.
In a historic ruling, the justices declared that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for their official acts based on core constitutional powers. But they also declared, “There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”
Former President Donald Trump has claimed that he acted in his official duties as president when he challenged the certification of the 2020 election on January 6 and should be immune from prosecution.
But Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Trump asserts a far broader immunity than the limited one we have recognized.”
WATCH LIVE CBN News ANALYSIS: Supreme Court Rules on Presidential Immunity
Before the ruling, Bradley Jacob, Associate Dean at Regent University Law School, predicted Donald Trump’s criminal trials likely will not be dismissed.
“Maybe a few of the allegations, a few of the indictments will be thrown out. But by and large, I think you’re going to see continued movement towards the trials of President Trump, but probably not fast enough to reach any conclusions before the election,” Jacob said.
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