On Sunday evening, former President Trump requested the U.S. Supreme Court to review the judgment against him by the state of New York. Last Thursday, a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, causing a public uproar as many viewed the trial as a major theatrical performance in the U.S. justice system.
Following this verdict, writer and prominent television host Mark Levin immediately proposed to directly submit the case for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. He stated, “The issue is how to break free from the constraints of the New York State judicial system. By submitting the case to the Supreme Court, the Court can take action as needed.” He believed that Judge Juan Merchan had categorized non-criminal activities as criminal offenses and emphasized the Supreme Court’s necessity to intervene.
Judge Merchan announced that Trump will be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention convenes.
On Sunday evening, Trump wrote on the “Truth Social” platform, “For the fascists, a ‘verdict’ on (me) for doing nothing wrong will occur just four days before the Republican National Convention. Radical left Soros-supported local prosecutor Vance, whose campaign platform is ‘I will defeat Trump,’ reports to a ‘deputy’ substitute judge appointed by the Democrats, with this judge’s inner conflict, how can he decide the fate of our nation’s future judgment? The U.S. Supreme Court must act!”
Levin wrote on X platform last Thursday, “The issue is how to break free from the constraints of the New York system. Submit the case to the Supreme Court, which may or may not accept. This is why I refer to the ‘Bush v. Gore’ case, where the Supreme Court decided to intervene because it was a presidential election. It ultimately established this principle.
“In New York, you (Trump) will file a notice of appeal, requesting the trial court to stay proceedings and seek expedited review. You need to protect your ability to appeal promptly rather than forfeiting it. Then, you can submit a common law writ to the U.S. Supreme Court, which can take action as needed, legally asserting that this harm is direct and continuous, affecting not just the presidential candidate but also the federal electoral system, federal election jurisdiction [reverse federalism], and the precedent that could be established and disseminated nationwide.
“Denial of due process has affected various aspects of this case. The Supreme Court has common law powers [common law writs—established by the court rather than legislation (judicially created not statutorily created)], which it rarely exercises, only in special circumstances, to enhance remedies. Delaying will only complicate matters.
“We need to give the Supreme Court the opportunity to intervene. If the Supreme Court chooses not to intervene, then it won’t… So far (handled by Manhattan District Attorney) Alvin Bragg and (Judge) Merchan categorizing non-criminal events and activities as criminal offenses, to the extent that we do not know what they are now, the Supreme Court must act.
“Ultimately, the Supreme Court will not be able to avoid this issue forever. It is better to address it now rather than later because conditions will be worse later.”
This case stemmed from the legal dispute triggered by the 2000 U.S. presidential election. That year’s election results were already determined in all states except Florida. Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush had received 246 electoral votes from 29 states, while Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore had garnered 267 electoral votes from 20 states. Neither reached the necessary threshold of 270 votes for a clear win.
Florida held 25 electoral votes. On the afternoon of November 8, the results of the Florida vote recount showed Bush ahead of Gore by 1,784 votes. Under Florida law, when the difference in the vote count is less than 0.5%, a recount is required. After the recount, Bush’s lead over Gore narrowed, but still remained. However, this recount was conducted by machines, and some ballots were not recognized by the machines. Gore requested a manual recount of the undetected ballots by the machines and several counties where Democratic support was higher. The Florida Circuit Court upheld his request.
However, on December 12, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of varying standards to determine valid votes in different counties violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Court overturned the Florida Circuit Court’s ruling and mandated a statewide uniform standard for counting votes before the December 18 meeting of the Electoral College. Ultimately, Bush secured Florida and won the presidency.