91ÊÓƵ

Derek Muller

Professor of Law

Law 91ÊÓƵ

Office
1116 Eck Hall Of Law
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Email
dmuller@nd.edu

Professor of Law

  • Election law
  • Federal courts
  • Voting rights
  • Election administration
  • Legal education
  • Civil procedure

Video

Muller’s 91ÊÓƵ

Muller in the News

“Congress has often changed the date of counting electoral votes in the past, when January 6 fell on a Sunday or for other matters of convenience. The date is not fixed by the Constitution but chosen by Congress and can easily be moved,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Derek Muller, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said the Constitution gives the House the authority to organize itself, which would give members enough legal wiggle room to find a way out of what would be an unprecedented situation.

Washington Reporter

Derek T. Muller is a Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

There’s a collegiality, a kindness and a lack of an edge,” said law professor Nicole Garnett, a close friend of Barrett’s from their years as colleagues and neighbors, and the driving force behind the school’s success in placing law clerks at all levels of the judiciary.

Gaetz specifically stated in his resignation letter that he did “not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress,” which Notre Dame law professor Derek T. Muller said on X Thursday is “enough to trigger a vacancy” for the spot Gaetz won in reelection under House precedent.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The boards’ decision, however, was unusual, said Derek Muller, an election-law expert at the University of Notre Dame. “In theory, the board should just exclude the ballots and then let the contestant go sue,” Muller said.

“It’s very much the customs and habits that candidates and the federal government do,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor and expert on presidential transition.

WAMU/NPR

Audio

Derek Muller, election law expert, professor of law; Notre Dame

“The testimony does suggest the PAC saw the sweepstakes as an inducement to get voters to register, which would run afoul of federal law,” said Derek Muller, a CNN contributor and election law scholar who teaches at the University of Notre Dame. “This testimony could be used if the Department of Justice later brought charges in federal court.”

That process, in and of itself, would be “disruptive” and “problematic,” Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, previously told The Hill. But it could also result in a scenario that the American public hasn’t seen in over 200 years.

Video

Derek Muller, professor of law, University of Notre Dame

Barron's

Derek Muller, who teaches election law at the University of Notre Dame, said the number of votes potentially affected by each pre-election case is "very small" -- 1,000 or 2,000 voters or ballots.

“Congress does not have the capacity in the [Jan. 6] joint session to do so,” said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame constitutional law expert. “Because Congress is not in a position to decide the matter, Congress should count the votes.”

“Certainty and finality are valuable,” Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller said. “That means, unfortunately, reason-giving takes a back seat in the heat of the moment.”

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, told CNN that state legislatures would have to first repeal their laws that dictate how elections operate before appointing electors directly.

“Musk has the right to remove this to federal court if there is jurisdiction, but with removal comes delay,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert who teaches at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. 

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor and presidential transition expert who testified in favor of the legislation, said it ensures that potentially two candidates get backing for transitions, with one eventually falling away. He said that’s preferable to having a situation where no transition support is released to either side — which can spark delays leading to national security lapses.

Roll Call

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame , said the Supreme Court generally avoids stepping into high-stakes litigation surrounding the elections, but that may not always be possible.

“They’ll do everything they can to avoid resolving disputes after the election,” said Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. “Their hand might be forced if it comes down to one very closely contested state. But my assumption is that they will prefer the political process to play out and avoid as much as possible weighing in.”

Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

“There’s just an increasingly vanishing domain of cases the court wants to hear in these election law contexts,” said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame election-law professor. 

Audio

Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller joins “Cases and Controversies” to explain what states and courts are doing to try to avoid such a situation ahead of Nov. 5, and get his take on what would make high court intervention unlikely and what scenario might trigger a review.

Research by prominent elections-law scholars (Derek Muller at the University of Notre Dame, Richard Hasen at UCLA and others) shows a steep...

Philadelphia Inquirer (Subscription required)

...or you think it's not,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at the University of Notre Dame.

Professor Derek Muller of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ said giving people rewards that require them to be registered to vote could be seen as an inducement for those who aren’t already registered to do so — something that happens to align with Musk’s broader goals right now.

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told CNN Politics: "When you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that's where bribery concerns arise." Muller said that offering cash prizes exclusively to registered voters could be interpreted as giving cash for voter registration, which is prohibited.

“It’s not even just the parties — it’s outside organizations, and they’re fundraising on how they’re able to protect democracy, how they’re able to preserve the integrity of the election, whatever it might be,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert and professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. “They have wealthy donors who are backing this litigation. So there doesn’t seem to be any de-escalation in sight.”

“When you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that’s where bribery concerns arise,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert who teaches at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. “By limiting a giveaway only to registered voters, it looks like you’re giving cash for voter registration.”

You can try to have Congress object, and so forth,” University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said.

The notion that a lone board could hold up a state by refusing to certify is "this crazy fantasy that has merged the right and the left,” said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor.

Derek T. Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor and an expert in election law, said the Supreme Court would probably have little appetite to wade into election challenges if the margin of victory is by at least three or four states, because the loser would have to win challenges in multiple states to claim a win.

Tribune News Service +20 outlets

Election law disputes are possible but unlikely, according to Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University. 

Roll Call

Election law disputes are possible but unlikely, according to Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Video

Rebecca Roiphe, CBS News legal contributor, Derek Muller, law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, and Robert Legare, CBS News Justice Department reporter, join with analysis.

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ and an expert on election law, discusses the barrage of lawsuits filed by Republicans challenging election rules and processes.

Video

Derek Muller, professor of law at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, joins "America Decides" to unpack the rule changes being pushed through by pro-Trump election officials in Georgia and the potential legal challenges.

“It’s a clever strategy,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor specializing in election law. “You’re looking for the circuits that are going to be most hospitable to your claims.”

World News Group

Audio

That’s Derek Muller. He’s a professor at Justice Barrett’s alma mater Notre Dame. And his scholarship focuses on election law.

“Now it seems hard to find any of the largest firms that are right-leaning,” said Derek Muller, election law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. “It’s just been a kind of slow and steady drift over the last several presidential cycles.”

CBC

Video

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller

By the same token, although there have been instances of officials at the county level refusing to certify local votes, Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, points out that, in the end, all the relevant deadlines have always been met.

“When you have all this money to spend on litigation, you end up litigating less and less important stuff,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University.

Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

The Dispatch

“There are ways in which you could sort of say they’re sort of comporting with existing rules and nothing interesting or remarkable has happened,” Derek T. Muller, a Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor who focuses on election law, told The Dispatch. 

“The problem is, these cases are always in an emergency posture, so you’re always dealing with short fuses,” said Derek Muller, a professor and elections expert at the Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. “But the court just seems not interested in adding more details about its basis for granting or denying.” 

But professor Derek Muller of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ noted that the third-place finisher must actually win an electoral vote — not just finish in third place in the popular vote.

Miami Herald

If no candidate reaches 270 votes — including in the case of a 269-269 tie — then the election is settled by the newly elected Congress through what is known as a “contingent election,” Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, told McClatchy News in an email.

 

“It’s definitely pushed litigants to try to sue early in the cycle and move quickly,” said Derek Muller, a professor at University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

"The closer it is, you know, the more pressure is going to come to bear," said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame University law professor who advised the Senate on drafting the 2022 legislation.

Ohio Capital Journal

“I think both sides are right,” Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said with a laugh.

Derek Muller, a U.S. election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, described the proposal as “a great thought experiment but very different than our tradition of voting,” especially with recent shifts in discussions around voting eligibility that emphasize capability. 

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who is an expert on election law, said in an email: “Democrats do not have a nominee yet.

The Dispatch

Audio

Sarah and David are joined by Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller, who teaches “Presidential Nominations in a Time of Uncertainty,” to discuss the legality of swapping out (presumptive) party nominees, the potential consequences of doing so, and the complexity of state election laws at-large.

But now that he actually has stepped down, moving forward with the virtual roll call will help preempt the same questions of ballot access for Harris or any other nominee, according to Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

"I think there's low likelihood that anyone even sues, much less that anyone will be successful," Derek Muller, a professor at University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law, told CBS News.

Video

Legal law expert and professor at Notre Dame, Derek Muller, fills us in on legal analysis.

Video

University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller discusses the evolving presidential situation

News Nation

Video

Interview with Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller

WISH TV

Video

While the Indiana Election Calendar gives a July 15 deadline to withdraw, election law expert professor Derek Muller from Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ said that the deadline and another one for Aug. 1 are for state elections — and that exempts presidential candidates.

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said that any such challenge would fail because no Democratic presidential candidate has been formally nominated by the party yet. 

Sacramento Bee (subscription required)

 For electors “in 49 states and District of Columbia, a Harris-Newsom ticket is not a problem,” said Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

Roll Call

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University who specializes in election law, wrote on social media Sunday that there is a “high degree of uncertainty right now.

Mr. Biden's decision to step aside before the Democratic convention, which begins on Aug. 19 in Chicago, could bring some chaos, said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law. 

CBC

Video

Canada Tonight's Travis Dhanraj speaks with U.S. elections expert Derek Muller.

Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said campaigns are often well ahead spending money before the FEC or courts decide what’s allowed, pushing the final answers until after Election Day.

“There’s different dimensions to this,” said Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame. “One is what the Trump campaign itself wants to do, versus what third parties or proxies want to do.”

Audio

Election law expert Derek Muller explains how President Biden's decision affects election law.

Radio Iowa

Derek Muller is a national election law expert who left the University of Iowa a year ago to join the law school faculty at Notre Dame.

Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said Democrats could face litigation in states like Washington where accepting provisional nominees is a decision made by the secretary of state and not codified in law.

“If you try to substitute after the deadline, but before ballots are printed, that’s where it opens a universe of litigation that Democrats do not want to get into,” Derek Muller, a specialist in election law at the University of Notre Dame, told DealBook.

Derek Muller, an election-law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said that a lawsuit based on Howell’s theory “would not go to discovery. 

Derek T. Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, said the nature of Justice Barrett’s jurisprudence is evident from an assessment of the whole of her work on the court. 

University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said the decision makes it harder to prosecute presidents but does not give them a pass.

Stepping aside before the Democratic convention is legally easy but politically difficult, said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law. 

Trump still could face a trial, said Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller. “But the fact remains that it is almost impossible to happen before the election."

On the first ballot, “we would see if anybody gets a majority, and then if nobody gets a majority, there would be another round of voting”, said Derek Muller, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ and an expert in election law, affirmed the view that the high court makes it "exceedingly unlikely any trial will happen before Election Day."

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, said changing nominees would legally be straightforward from a legal perspective because there is no official nominee yet and no ballots have been printed.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor, said the effect of the decision "may be somewhat limited" for other Jan. 6 rioters.

“It will be a much tougher case to argue that he impaired an official proceeding if the prosecution must also show that it related to the destruction or alteration, or related activities, of documents,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

"It will be a much tougher case to argue that he impaired an official proceeding if the prosecution must also show that it related to the destruction or alteration, or related activities, of documents," said Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller, an election law scholar.

“Presumably, for Democrats, they would pick [vice-president] Kamala Harris,” said Derek Muller, professor at the University of Notre Dame's law school.

Derek T. Muller, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who studies election law, told me that the Kennedy campaign's case for collusion may not be particularly strong. 

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said having an independent candidate like Kennedy on stage may make for a more substantive debate.

“Florida is a large state and a state that you hope to carry,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. 

Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

KITV

And then once their state parties submit those names to the secretary of state," Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller told Island News.

Des Moines Register

"You can’t challenge somebody for being a felon for federal office because that’s not one of the qualifications listed in the Constitution," Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, previously told the Des Moines Register.

Adams’ lawsuit could also backfire and prove that the certification process — a previously mundane and “ministerial” task that election deniers have hijacked in recent years — is not up to the discretion of officials like Adams, says Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who has written about the issue of local certification of elections.

Video

ABC57 Anchor Brian Conybeare sits down with University of Notre Dame Law Professor Derek Muller, to discuss the guilty verdict from the Donald Trump hush money trial and what possibly comes next.

"There's a wide understanding that the qualifications listed in the Constitution are exclusive - that is, we can't add to those qualifications," said Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

And law professor Derek Muller raised questions about the debate criteria in a post for the popular legal site, Election Law Blog.

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor, said the power of the electors’ platform alone should not be discounted. 

Subscription required

Notre Dame University election law expert Derek Muller said it would be a safer bet for Democrats to continue seeking a legislative remedy.

“It would lead to a pretty significant, potentially — I won’t call it disastrous — but disruptive election process if it does happen,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

"As the campaign sees and recognizes that these are very convenient vessels out there, it's a clever move, and it's not a surprise they do it," Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame professor specializing in election law, told ABC News.

In states where ballots have already been printed or mailed, the party could instruct voters – and electors – to treat the names at the top of the ticket “as hieroglyphics”, said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

The Bulwark

And after they vote, it is really a matter for Congress to determine,” said Derek T. Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor and an expert in election law.

"There's a lot of deep legal contestation over what happens next. I mean, in my judgment, I think it needs congressional consent," Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told ABC News.

The willingness to bring more marginal legal cases reflects how the amount of money being put toward election litigation has increased significantly, said Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame who noted that the trend also applies to Democrats and outside groups across the ideological spectrum.

Audio

Elections law expert Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, discusses the many lawsuits over voting rules that have already been filed. 

The Boston Globe - subscription

Derek Muller, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's law school who focuses on election law.

Political parties’ legal expenses have skyrocketed to $154 million in 2022 from around $5 million in 2003, according to data compiled by Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. 

Video

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller and CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett join with analysis.

Roll Call

And another from Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on election law, urged the court to be precise in any opinion that leaves authority to Congress in that area.

Projections of the rankings by Spivey, Pepperdine Law Dean Paul Caron, and Notre Dame professor Derek Muller suggest New York University 91ÊÓƵ of Law this year would drop to either No. 10 or 11 from the current No. 5 without a change in methodology.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Section 3 litigation eventually targets people for reasons well beyond Jan. 6.

... Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who has written about the issue of local certification of elections.

Arizona Mirror

Even with their claims of new evidence, Derek Muller, a professor of law at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told the Arizona Mirror that he believes the case is “a longshot.” 

University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller agreed the majority opinion left the question muddled.

Derek Muller of the University of Notre Dame reckons that “it's not difficult” to get on the ballot in 30 states.

“It appears the court is limiting how Congress goes about enforcing Section 3 through legislation, which may also limit Congress if it attempts to refuse to count electoral votes,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller agreed that the majority’s opinion “would close the door to some post-election challenges that might otherwise be left open by the decision.”

Derek Muller, an election law professor at Notre Dame, said in a statement the Supreme Court decision today "shuts the door on any exclusion of Trump from the ballot in any state, either in the primary or the general."

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor closely following the case, said the court’s decision “does not resolve the contentious insurrection issues, which will remain live and disputed in the public domain in the months to come.

“I think today’s opinion will at least close the door on some of that discourse,” said Derek Muller, a constitutional scholar at the University of Notre Dame.

Colorado Public Radio

“Colorado can’t do this and really no other state can do this in the primary or general election,” said Derek Muller, a constitutional law expert and law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ. 

Video

CBS News election law contributor David Becker and Derek Muller, professor for Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, discuss the legal aspects of the ruling.

The Conversation

As Notre Dame election law scholar Derek Muller observed: "States are the ones who have the primary responsibility of running presidential elections.

otre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller said the contentious insurrection issue will "remain live and disputed in the public domain in the months to come."

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University, disagreed that the court opened the door to a post-election challenge, noting that the liberal justices in their opinion complained that the majority ruling forecloses any other ways for Congress to enforce the provision, according to the AP.

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said it seemed the majority wanted to "close that door."

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University, said “it seems no,” noting that the liberals complained that the majority ruling forecloses any other ways for Congress to enforce the provision.

“This decision does not resolve the contentious insurrection issues, which will remain live and disputed in the public domain in the months ahead,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor. 

Given the justices’ apparent consensus during oral arguments, it’s taking longer than many people anticipated for a decision, said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller, who has been closely following the ballot eligibility issue.

AEI

Audio

Co-hosts John Fortier and Don Palmer are joined by Rick Hasen (Professor of Law at UCLA Law) and Derek Muller (Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ), to discuss Trump v. Anderson.

If Trump wins in November, it’s possible some Democrats would try to reject votes cast for Trump, said Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame who has followed the case closely. 

Video

Law Professor at the University of Notre Dame and nationally recognized scholar in the area of election law, Derek Muller, joins to share more on the fallout from former President Donald Trump's appeal and what it means for the January 6th federal case.

Audio

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, and Harold Krent, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, discuss the Supreme Court oral arguments on Colorado's removal of Trump from the ballot.

Video

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller and Harvard Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Lawrence Lessig join "America Decides" to unpack how the justices seemed to be responding.

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who has been closely following the case, said Thursday’s arguments showed both liberals and conservatives on the court are “uncomfortable with the notion that it was going to be the decider here.”

“Trump’s briefing so far has really leaned into the argument that the presidency is not an office of the United States, which means that presidency is not covered by Section 3, and therefore, this whole case should disappear,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame who filed a brief in the matter.

The Conversation

The Conversation’s senior politics and democracy editor, Naomi Schalit, spoke with Notre Dame election law scholar Derek Muller after the oral arguments.

 

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who that offered analysis of key legal questions, said after the hearing that the justices are likely to put Donald Trump back on the ballot in Colorado. 

“The court seemed inclined to let the political process play out,” said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller, who has been closely following the ballot eligibility issue.

“I don’t think [the court] wants to be involved in these disputes,” the University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller told the Guardian’s Sam Levine in his excellent preview of the hearing. 

Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said on Bloomberg Law’s “Cases and Controversies” podcast that the question of whether Jan. 6 was an “insurrection” for purposes of the Section 3 involves “a lot of deep in the weeds factual questions.”

Roll Call

Several arguments made in the case offer the Supreme Court an opportunity to defer the dispute to a different branch of government, said Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who focuses on election law.

Law Professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, Derek Muller, joins to share how significant this ruling is.

I think, on a bipartisan basis, there’s an interest on staying as far away from these issues as possible,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who wrote an amicus brief in the case that wasn’t in support of either party.

Audio

“That’s at least an understandable minimum threshold to say ‘we’re not going to step in where the outcome of this particular election or candidacy is at stake,’” Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said on Bloomberg Law’s “Cases and Controversies” podcast.

ProPublica

“It’s very strange to name the Senate and House but not the president,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, characterizing this position. 

“The cases have gone poorly for Trump,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has followed the cases closely, wrote Friday in a blog post.

“Frankly, I think that’s one of his stronger arguments,” said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame election-law professor.

Audio

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller joins “Cases and Controversies” to explain the legal issues at play and the potential impacts of a court ruling that fails to give a definitive answer before the presidential election.

“It’s hard to say where the court’s going to go on this,” said University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller.

“Invoking Scalia is kind of an attempt to cite some moral authority for one of the court’s great originalists,” said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller, an expert on the case. “They’re not just citing anyone.”

“It would pretty clearly foreclose any challenge to a presidential candidate for being not qualified under the United States Constitution,” Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said of the bill.

"It would pretty clearly foreclose any challenge to a presidential candidate for being not qualified under the United States Constitution," Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told the Des Moines Register of the proposal. 

Des Moines Register

"It would pretty clearly foreclose any challenge to a presidential candidate for being not qualified under the United States Constitution," Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said of the bill.

In a paper forthcoming in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller takes a new and interesting approach to identifying the ideological leanings of large law firms.

AFP, including Yahoo News +65 others

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said he believes Trump, the first former US president ever to face criminal charges, faces an "uphill battle" in the immunity case.

AFP, including Yahoo News, Barron's +50 others

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, noted that courts are "asked to decide tough questions all the time."

The Conversation

The Conversation’s senior politics and democracy editor, Naomi Schalit, spoke with Notre Dame election law scholar Derek Muller about the Supreme Court’s decision to take the case, which will rest on the court’s interpretation of a post Civil War-era amendment aimed at keeping those who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from serving in political office.

Prof. Derek T. Muller of the University of Notre Dame's law school said, "The court quite clearly understands the high stakes of the case and is aware that Colorado is just the first of many challenges this year."

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek T. Muller said, “Trump only needs to win on one.”

Trump’s appeal request leaves the Supreme Court with “a variety of options at its disposal” to rule on the case, from narrow, strictly legal questions to broader ones about Trump’s state of mind on Jan. 6, 2021, said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller.

Derek Muller, an election law expert and professor at Notre Dame’s law school, said Mr. Castro risked creating unfavorable precedent with his failed lawsuits.

"The court will feel pressed to move quickly as voters soon begin casting their votes around the country," said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller, who has been closely following the ballot issue for months.

“If you are not eligible to serve in the office, Congress might not count the votes for you,” said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who specializes in election law.

Video

Regarding the legal questions at the center of the ballot bans, Election Law Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Derek Muller, joins to explain a bit about this appeal process and how soon we might see a decision rendered.

Axios

This is an effort to keep that trial date as much as reasonably possible with existing legal mechanisms," Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law school professor, told Axios after Smith's request.

Notre Dame law Professor Derek Muller has suggested that the court will “coalesce around a consensus unanimous opinion.” 

“It seems strange to allow the process to continue to play out, so I do think it’s going to force the court’s hand,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame whom the judges cited in the Colorado ruling.

There will be major pressure on the Supreme Court to offer clarity very soon,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor and election law scholar.

“This is a fraught political issue,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

“This is a major and extraordinary holding from a state supreme court,” Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, wrote on the Election Law Blog.

“In Bush v. Gore they ruled in three days,” said University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller, citing the decision that determined George W. Bush won the 2000 presidential election. 

“In Bush v. Gore they ruled in three days,” University of Notre Dame law professor DEREK MULLER told the Washington Post. 

Axios

"There's no winning," Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller told Axios.

"It's an extraordinary decision that puts Trump's election campaign in major legal jeopardy. It also will put a lot of pressure on the Supreme Court to review the decision," Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana told Newsweek.

Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller called the Colorado decision “a major and extraordinary holding from a state supreme court. 

The case “exerts major pressure on the Court,” said Derek T. Muller, an election-law professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, and taking it will require the justices “to step into the thorniest of political thickets.” 

Colorado Newsline

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has followed the case closely, called the Colorado decision a “major and extraordinary holding” that will require the U.S. Supreme Court “to step into the thorniest of political thickets.”

“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the cases, told the Associated Press news agency after Tuesday’s ruling.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said the ruling is “a major threat to Trump's candidacy.

Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller, an election law scholar, told Business Insider he believes the Supreme Court will be inclined to hear the case because it deals with the 14th Amendment — which has never been subject to interpretation by the Supreme Court in the 150 years it has been in place.

Critics of the suit have argued that CREW's argument and Colorado's subsequent ruling limit voters' rights to choose who to cast their ballot for — but election law scholar and Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ professor Derek Muller told Business Insider the existing qualifications for office are designed to prevent people from voting for who they want to.

“This is an extraordinary holding from the Colorado Supreme Court,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

"It exerts major pressure on the court," said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller. "Even inaction would functionally exclude (Trump) from not just Colorado but perhaps other states."

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said Wallace’s conclusions about Trump’s role in the insurrection were “remarkable.”

“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said after Tuesday’s ruling.

“This is a major and extraordinary holding from a state supreme court,” Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, wrote on the Election Law Blog.

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who has studied the cases challenging Trump’s candidacy, called the Colorado decision unlike any other in history.

“It’s not an ideal situation for anyone, but I think there’s no question that with any adverse judicial decision, Trump will turn it into campaign talk,” said Derek Muller, an election law professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

Audio

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, discusses the Special Counsel asking the Supreme Court to decide whether Donald Trump is entitled to absolute presidential immunity against criminal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, said the procedure remained unusual.

"It's always a longshot bid for the Supreme Court to hear a case like this, without waiting for the process to play out in the lower courts," said Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ Professor Derek Muller

Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law school professor, described Monday’s filing as rare and said Smith was asking the Supreme Court for “extraordinary relief.”

Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, has filed a briefing to the Colorado Supreme Court. In it, he said that there have been several cases where presidential candidates were excluded from the ballot because they were deemed ineligible under the U.S constitution.

“The justices struggled with whether Colorado courts even have power to hear cases like this,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who filed a brief that was neutral on disqualifying Trump. 

"Retirements can take many forms. Members seek another office or another career opportunity, or they simply get tired with the job after doing it for many years," Derek T. Muller, professor of law at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told Fox News Digital.

“It’s a delicate balancing that the courts are going through," said Derek Muller, a lawyer professor at the University of Notre Dame. "I envy no one in trying to balance them in a case like this."

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies election law, said that federal appeals courts with a number of judges appointed by Trump and other Republicans, including the Eleventh and Eighth circuits, tend to have a more conservative approach to interpreting statutes.

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said Wallace’s conclusions about Trump’s role in the insurrection were “remarkable.”

But Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the issue, said it’s too soon to declare the effort to knock Trump off the ballot over. 

“It’s a stunning holding for a court to conclude that a former president engaged in insurrection against the United States,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has followed the case closely. 

“There’s this very public fight, in all these colloquial terms, about whether it’s an insurrection, but it really comes down to brass tacks defining what this constitutional term means,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who’s followed the litigation closely, told the Associated Press.

"States are looking to start printing and mailing ballots in January so these cases are moving very quickly and Minnesota might be the first state supreme court to issue a decision," said Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame law professor. 

Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, filed a brief in the case that was neutral on Trump’s eligibility but offered analysis of key legal questions.

North Carolina Public Radio

Courts will now contend with thorny legal questions, such as what actually constitutes a rebellion and whether Congress needs to make that clearer through legislation before courts can weigh in, according to Professor Derek Muller, an elections law expert at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

“We’ve had hearings with presidential candidates debating their eligibility before — Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, John McCain,” said Derek T. Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, listing candidates challenged on whether they met the constitutional requirement of being a “natural born citizen.”

"We’ve never seen a challenge like this to a presidential candidate, hearings that go for days to evaluate their eligibility,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ who filed a brief in a similar case that was neutral on disqualifying Trump but gave analysis for key legal questions.

"It's the first domino to fall. We've never seen a challenge like this to a presidential candidate, hearings that go for days to evaluate their eligibility," Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, told CNN.

“Hassan is kept off, because he’s not a citizen,” Derek T. Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame who has the legal significance of Hassan’s case, told me. 

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame said the bench order appeared narrowly tailored, but enforcing the eventual written order could still become a challenge.

A May analysis of Education Department data by Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller found that Western Michigan University Cooley Law 91ÊÓƵ; Atlanta's John Marshall Law 91ÊÓƵ, and Appalachian 91ÊÓƵ of Law were among the schools with the highest debt-to-income ratios.

Derek Muller, an election law expert who teaches at the Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said he believes it’ll be a “heavy lift” for their argument to prevail in court.

“Many states do not have a law on the books empowering the secretary of state to judge the eligibility of presidential candidates,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert who teaches at the Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ.

Washington Times

Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said a secretary of state’s authority over removing Mr. Trump’s name from the ballot depends on state law.

Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, emphasized that standing requirements are looser in state courts than in federal courts, especially when it comes to voters’ ability to challenge candidates’ eligibility.

 “The odds are high that at least one gets to the merits and decides whether Trump participated in an insurrection that disqualifies him,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller talked about the Supreme Court decision in Moore v. Harper, which found the Constitution does not allow a state to regulate federal elections, rejecting a broad interpretation of the so-called “independent state legislature” theory. 

“People are not anticipating how pervasive these will be,” said Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller, an election law expert.

“To the extent that attorneys are looking for an alternative on the Republican side, it’s no surprise to see them coalescing around DeSantis,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame University law professor who has studied lawyers’ political contributions. 

Detroit News

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame Law 91ÊÓƵ, said the criminal charges leveled are a "fraught" area of the law.