It is helpful/strongly encouraged to use the IRAC formula when addressing each answer. First,
start with identifying the issue, then establish the rule and what case the rule comes from. Apply
that rule to these facts, and then provide your conclusion to the issue presented with these facts
On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) heard oral arguments in
the case of Trump v. United States (2024).1 The case stems from the pending
criminal prosecution against former President Donald Trump relating to the events
of January 6, 2021. In his defense, Trump raised a claim of absolute executive
privilege; a claim that he, and any other former president, cannot be prosecuted
criminally unless he was first impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
Only then could he face criminal charges for those acts that were undertaken in his
private, personal capacity. The trial court denied these claims, and this decision was
affirmed by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in February of 2024.
The central issue pending before SCOTUS: “Does a former president enjoy
presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve
official acts during his tenure, and is so, to what extent?”2
You are a law clerk for a justice of SCOTUS. Your justice asks you to prepare an
argument supporting the claims of former President Trump. In doing so, the justice
advises the purpose of this opinion is to create a new rule for such claims
moving forward; one that will withstand the ages of political and constitutional
development. Specifically, your justice asks you to consider the following in your
assessment of the constitutionality of his claims:
