Trump v. United States is a landmark separation of powers case decided by the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts, known for his minimalist approach, took a different stance in this case. Justice Sotomayor criticized the majority for engaging in judicial activism rather than restraint by granting immunity only to official conduct.
Instead of simply ruling on the specific allegations in the indictment, Chief Justice Roberts presented a comprehensive framework for addressing presidential power, introducing the concept of a presidential immunity trichotomy.
The Court has a history of using three-level tests, such as Justice Jackson’s triptych in Youngstown and the trimester framework in Roe. Now, the Trump trichotomy joins this tradition.
The trichotomy consists of three levels of immunity for presidential actions. Firstly, absolute immunity is granted for the President’s core constitutional powers. Secondly, there is presumptive immunity for official actions outside of these core powers. And finally, there is no immunity for private or unofficial actions.
Chief Justice Roberts likely wrote this opinion broadly in response to what he saw as years of legal challenges against President Trump. He was concerned about the constant legal battles since Trump took office, including the Emoluments Clauses litigation and the Mueller investigation. The broad boundaries set by the Chief Justice aim to prevent future legal warfare against the President.
