My Amicus Brief in the Minnesota Section Three Case

Here is my brief. Here is the Introduction:

Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is the constitutional expression of President Lincoln’s pledge in his Second Inaugural Address: “With malice toward none, with charity for all.” Instead of imposing criminal punishments or other harsh penalties on former officials who served the Confederacy, the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment chose only to exclude them from office. Moreover, they gave Congress the exclusive power to forgive these officials if the public interest warranted their return to office. This Court must now apply these principles to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and to Donald Trump’s role in that attack. 

This amicus brief relies on history to answer five legal questions. First, is the public use of violence by a group of people to prevent or hinder the execution of the Constitution an insurrection within the meaning of Section 3? Second, should the phrase “engaged in insurrection” in Section 3 be read broadly to include words as well as deeds? Third, does Section 3 apply to the Presidency? Fourth, does Section 3 apply to a former President who took an oath to support the Constitution only as President? Fifth, may Section 3 be enforced by state courts without an Act of Congress? The answer to all five questions is “Yes.”