RADFORD, Va. – President Donald Trump is not going down without a fight for this election.
Trump has filed lawsuits against Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan at this time, but recently, judges in Georgia and Michigan have dismissed the lawsuits.
It’s not a surprise for Radford University Professor and Criminal Justice Department Chairman, Dr. Eric Williams who said Trump is fighting a losing battle.
“If the Supreme Court was going to come and change a state’s election rules, it’s pretty controversial," Williams said. "And it shows a lot of judicial activism in an area of law they really have no business of getting into.”
Williams said Trump’s team would have to prove that the way the votes are being tallied goes against the state’s constitution or their election law statute. However, in Pennsylvania, the courts struck down Trump’s accusations twice already.
Although, Williams said the state’s election law is a little unclear and needs to be more specific.
“You know you write a law that you think is airtight but if you can get a good enough attorney to pick apart and they are going to find reasons to go after it," he said.
Trump needs four out of the nine justices to agree to hear his case, but Williams said getting a fifth justice to agree is where most of the power lies.
“That fifth one is most likely going to be John Roberts who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court," Williams said. "And he has shown across the course of time that he thinks the institution is more important than his own personal belief system. And as Chief Justice, he’s going to be really wary of making a decision that sets a precedent for future elections.”
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in George W. Bush’s favor to stop the recount in Florida, helping him win the election.
Williams said Trump’s case is different because he is seeking legal action prematurely as votes still need to be counted.
“They can sue all they want but I really can’t imagine that a court is going to overrule an election.”
But if Trump does call for a recount afterward, Williams said historically, it is unlikely that it would flip the outcome of the election.