The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
What If Trump is Convicted?
My new article in the print issue of Reason on how things could get weird
It has been awhile since I've had a piece in a print issue of Reason, and I'm particularly delighted that this time I get cool cover art. The article is now available digitally (but of course you should also subscribe to the print magazine, if you do not already do so).
From the article:
It is a decent bet that none of his criminal trials will reach a conclusion before November. But there is a genuine possibility that one or more of his trials could reach a verdict by Election Day. No doubt some of these prosecutions were brought with the hope of knocking Trump off the ballot, or at least damaging his candidacy, and some resemble more of a political Hail Mary than an ordinary criminal prosecution, but Trump faces a serious risk of conviction in at least some of them.
. . . .
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents a current inmate of a state or federal penitentiary from running for or winning the presidency. Unsurprisingly, the constitutional framers did not anticipate the possibility that the American electorate might make such a choice, and so did not think to account for the possibility. Thus, we must now consider what would happen were Trump to be both criminally convicted and elected president.
