Supreme Court grants Trump partial Immunity from prosecution

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump has some immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken during his presidency.

 

The Court concluded that a former President has absolute immunity for acts within his core constitutional duties and presumptive immunity for other official acts. However, there is no immunity for unofficial acts. The case has been remanded for further analysis to determine whether specific actions in the indictment qualify as official or unofficial.

 

Majority Opinion: Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh in full, and by Justice Amy Coney Barrett except for Part III-C.

 

 

Key Points of the Majority Opinion: Former Presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within their core constitutional duties and presumptive immunity for other official acts. Immunity does not extend to unofficial acts.

 

The lower courts must distinguish between official and unofficial actions and determine whether prosecuting Trump for the alleged actions would intrude on the Executive Branch’s authority and functions.

 

Concurring Opinions:

Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion.

 

Justice Amy Coney Barrett filed an opinion concurring in part.

 

Dissenting Opinions:

 

Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

 

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson filed a separate dissenting opinion.

 

 

 

Layman’s Explanation:

 

The Supreme Court decided that Trump cannot be prosecuted for actions he took as President if those actions were part of his official duties. However, he can be prosecuted for things he did that were not part of his job as President. The lower courts need to look closely at each action to see if it is official or not.