Supreme Court Preview: Trump v. US

A deeper dive into Presidential Immunity

On April 25, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump v. United States – Special Counsel Jack Smith’s District of Columbia case against Donald Trump – where the Court will consider:

“Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”

Presidential immunity from criminal prosecution is a novel, complex, and consequential question of law never before answered by the Supreme Court. In this article, we seek to explain the Constitutional and historic basis for presidential immunity, and the potential conclusions the Supreme Court might reach.

But before we get there, let’s start with the timing of the Court’s eventual decision.