Why a Supreme Court easy out in Trump ballot battle could lead to post-election chaos

CNN —

When it comes to deciding whether former President Donald Trump should be booted from Colorado’s ballot, the easiest path the Supreme Court could take now may wind up causing the most chaos early next year.

That’s the dire warning from a group of legal experts who fear the court may punt on the biggest question of the blockbuster case challenging Trump’s eligibility for a second term – whether the former president took part in an insurrection – and rule that it’s up to Congress, not states, to enforce the “insurrection ban” included in the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court listens to oral arguments from Jason Murray, the attorney representing a group of Colorado voters challenging Donald Trump's eligibility for the 2024 ballot, on February 8.

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In interviews and court documents, legal scholars have used phrases like “catastrophic constitutional crisis,” “political instability” and “horrendously ugly” to caution the justices against taking the easy way out of a dispute they predict could “come back with a vengeance” next year if Trump wins the election.

“This is volatile stuff,” said Gerard Magliocca, law professor at Indiana University and one of the nation’s foremost experts on the ban.

Based on their questions during more than two hours of oral arguments Thursday, a broad majority appeared sympathetic to Trump’s claim that Colorado did not have the authority to remove him.

But that wouldn’t answer the question of whether Congress can decide he’s ineligible to serve.

If the justices decide states cannot enforce the ban – and if Trump wins the general election in November – it could prompt a fight over whether Congress