In case you were wondering if any of the January 6th insurrectionists would be barred from governmental elective office, Roger Parloff has the story of the first one:
A judge today removed a county official from office under Section 3 of the 14th amendment, the hoary post-Civil War provision that bars certain people from holding office if they have “engaged in insurrection” against the United States.
Judge Francis Mathew, of the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, ousted Otero County (N.M.) Commissioner Couy Griffin, due to his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. According to lawyers who brought the case, it represents the first time a court has disqualified an official under Section 3 since 1869. (Congress refused to seat a U.S. Congressman, Victor Berger, under the Section in 1919.) [Lawfare]
While this part is unsurprising, it’s still interesting:
Importantly, Griffin proceeded pro se [he represented himself] at trial. (He was represented for a period during the pretrial phase.) As a consequence, he did not raise all of the legal arguments that a legal team might have. I have written about those very significant potential hurdles here.
It’s been observed, since the Web era began, that ignorant people often think they’re smart, the smartest folks in the room. I think it’s clear that’s what happened here. I wonder how many more of them will represent themselves before they get it figured out. I know at least several have done so in their criminal trials – and lost.
