CRS Legal Sidebar – The Insurrection Bar to Holding Office: Appeals Court Issues Decision on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, June 1, 2022: “On May 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in Cawthorn v. Amalfi, a case involving Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment (Section 3). That constitutional provision bars certain people who have“engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States from holding specified state and federal government offices. The specific question in the case was whether a Reconstruction-era statute granting amnesty to former Confederates barred application of Section 3 to persons who engage in any future rebellion or insurrection. The Fourth Circuit held that the 1872 statute did not have that effect and instead lifted the constitutional disqualification only for acts that had already occurred. The decision is relevant to Congress, both because Section 3 has been invoked against several legislators who allegedly participated in or supported the January 6, 2021, unrest at the Capitol and because the case raises broader constitutional considerations about what role state officials, federal courts,and Congress can play in determining the eligibility of congressional candidates…”