The Supreme Court has adjourned after hearing oral arguments over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Here’s what to know:
- Who is D. John Sauer?: Trump’s lawyer arguing the immunity case was formerly a law clerk to Justice Atonin Scalia.
- When will the court rule?: That’s unclear. If the court hands down its decision in late June, which would be the typical timeframe, there might not be enough time to start Trump’s Jan. 6 trial before the election.
- Trump hush money trial: A ruling in Trump’s favor should have no bearing on his hush-money trial now underway, in part because that state-level case involves actions Trump took before he became president.
1:05 PM EDT
Next public session for high court in 2 weeks, decision by then unlikely
BY MARK SHERMAN
The court will next meet in public on May 9, the court’s marshal, Gail Curley, announced as arguments ended Thursday.
The justices typically announce their decisions at public sessions, though May 9 is almost certainly too early for a decision in this case.
12:52 PM EDT
Oral arguments in immunity case stretch well over 2 hours
Supreme Court arguments in the landmark U.S. v. Trump immunity case were scheduled to last for an hour, but ran more than double the allotted time.
The justices frequently go over the timelines set for arguments, but the immunity case stretched somewhat longer than the typical case, which usually ranges between 90 minutes and two hours.
In another case involving Trump, where a group of Colorado voters tried to have him removed from the ballot under the insurrection clause, arguments lasted about two hours.
In that case, both liberal and conservative justices agreed that Trump shouldn’t be kicked off and the court issued a relatively quick ruling.
The immunity case before the high court Thursday delved deep into the nuances of immunity, and key questions of when the high court might rule remain unclear.