Professor Tillman responds to separate comments by Professor Rick Hasen and me (for the latter see my prior post) regarding legal issues that might affect the candidacies of Senator Cruz and former Senator Clinton.
Tillman notes that there is a conflict between two principles here: “one, protecting the democratic process from wrongful manipulation by prosecutors and courts, and two, the rule of law, applying the criminal law without fear or favor to all, even against those who are politically connected.” (In Cruz’s case, the issue does not involve criminal law, but there is a similar tension. On the one hand, it might seem desirable to have an authoritative decision on his eligibility while, on the other, there is a significant risk that his candidacy could be unfairly disrupted by lawsuits, decisions of various courts and actions by boards of election.)
Tillman agrees with me that this conflict presents a problem to which there is no easy solution. He does not believe, however, that my somewhat casual suggestion that the voters be allowed to make the decision except in cases where there “is no reasonable dispute” represents an adequate solution to the problem. Given the limited effort I put into designing this “solution,” I am sure he is right.