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Questions about Article 14 Section 3. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-09-09

The text of Article 14 Section 3 is as follows:

no person shall be a senator or representative in Congress" or "hold any office, civil or military" if they, after having taken an oath to support the Constitution, "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

This leaves me with several questions which I am hoping that some legal minds who read this can help clarify,

It specifically refers to holding office and does not deal with running for office. So if someone ran and won, it seems they could be barred from taking office. Not sure if it will ban them from running for office if they meet the age and citizenship requirements.

If it does ban them from running for office what would happen if someone gathered enough write-in votes to win the election. Who would be sworn in if that person was disqualified under this article?

If the law does ban them from running would that apply to primary elections and caucuses? After all running in a primary is generally left up to the party. I do not see anything in the law that would prevent a party from nominating someone. Whether they can serve or even appear on the general election ballot would seem to fall under the article.

The phrase I really question is “after having taken an oath to Support the Constitution”.

I believe most military personnel take that oath as do most if not all, elected officials.

So would the article apply to Insurrectionists who never held public office and therefore never took the oath to support the constitution. Can Enrique Tarrio run for office as a convicted insurrectionist since he never took an oath to defend the Constitution?

Would an ex Military person who did take an oath to support the Constitution be banned from serving if he refused to carry out an unlawful order. The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief but in Nuremberg, in 1946 it was held that soldiers do not have to carry out unjust orders. But would it constitute an insurrection if, for example, a group of national guardsmen refused to shoot at a crowd of civilians under orders from the military or governor. See Kent State 1970.

Article 14 Section 3 leaves open a lot of questions for which I have no answers and I am not sure that even the top legal minds in the country can find agreement.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/9/2192415/-Questions-about-Article-14-Section-3

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