The Supreme Court has just issued a ruling in the case on whether President Trump has immunity from prosecution in the January 6th case and they are not making a determination.

What they aren’t determining is the difference between an official and an unofficial act. The Court writes that there is immunity for official acts and no immunity for unofficial acts and they are sending it back to the lower courts to decide.

The vote was 6-3:

ROBERTS, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which THOMAS, ALITO, GORSUCH, and KAVANAUGH, JJ., joined in full, and in which BARRETT, J., joined except as to Part III–C. THOMAS, J., filed a concurring opinion. BARRETT, J., filed an opinion concurring in part.

SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which KAGAN and JACKSON, JJ., joined. JACKSON, J., filed a dissenting opinion.

Amy Howe at Scotusblog writes:

The court holds that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers. Former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts. There is no immunity, the court holds, for unofficial acts.

The core constitutional powers are things like appointing ambassadors and foreign governments.

The court explains that it does not need to decide in this case whether immunity for official acts is presumptive or absolute.

The court in Part III of its opinion indicates that in this case “no court has thus far considered how” to distinguish between official and unofficial acts.

Moreover, Roberts continues, “the lower courts rendered their decisions on a highly expedited basis” and “did not analyze the conduct alleged in the indictment to decide which of it should be categorized as official and which unofficial” — and it wasn’t briefed before the Supreme Court.

So the Supreme Court isn’t going to make that determination now. Instead, it will send the case back to the lower courts for further proceedings, although it does offer some guidance.

At the end of the day I think this is a victory for Trump, given that the Supreme Court is sending this back to the lower courts. Which I think means Jack Smith won’t be able to bring a trial against Trump anytime soon and certainly not before the election. Correct me if I’m wrong?

 
[UPDATE]

Trump declares victory with this ruling:

 
[UPDATE 2]

Sean Davis added some important context on what the Supreme Court instructed the lower courts to do, saying:

The Court ruled that presidents have “absolute immunity” for official “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and instructed the lower trial courts to hold specific evidentiary trials on each anti-Trump criminal count to determine which counts, if any, apply to non-immune acts. The Court ruled that presidents do not have immunity for non-official conduct.

“In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives,” the Court ruled. “Whenever the President and Vice President discuss their official responsibilities, they engage in official conduct.”

“The indictment’s allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the Vice President to take particular acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding thus involve official conduct, and Trump is at least presumptively immune from prosecution for such conduct,” the Court added.

“The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” the Court concluded. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.”

 
Below is the full ruling:

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