ASU professor one of 25 historians who filed amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court

By Ignacio Ventura
Published: Monday, February 5, 2024 - 9:41am
Updated: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 - 8:34am

The Constitution of the United States
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The Constitution of the United States.

An Arizona State University professor is one of 25 historians who filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on the original meaning of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

Section 3 of that amendment is what Colorado’s Supreme Court used to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot. It says you can’t hold federal office if you took an oath to support the U.S. and then engaged in insurrection.

Historian Brooks Simpson appeared on PBS’ “Arizona Horizon.”

“We have several justices on the court who talk a lot about their devotion to original intent so we’re just shining a light on exactly what the people at the time were thinking and saying and intending," he said.

Simpson says he joined the amicus because he thinks historians can affect public debate.

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