Greg Stohr for Bloomberg:

A historic showdown over Donald Trump’s eligibility to reclaim the White House puts pressure on the US Supreme Court to provide a clear political road map as the nation braces for the prospect of a tumultuous year.

Thrust into the fray by a Colorado ruling that barred Trump from this year’s presidential ballot because of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the high court will tackle novel questions about the Constitution’s insurrection clause, while trying to minimize its own ideological divisions.

The court hears arguments Thursday amid warnings that a misstep might mean a fragmented, chaotic election in a country still reeling from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. A ruling against Trump would mean other states could bar him, something he told the justices would “unleash chaos and bedlam.” And a group of ideologically diverse election-law experts said anything short of a definitive ruling on Trump’s eligibility risked fostering a “catastrophic” constitutional crisis and violence.

“Not since the Civil War has the United States confronted such a risk of destabilizing political unrest, and perhaps never has this Court been in such a clear position to head it off,” said election law scholars Edward Foley and Rick Hasen and retired Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg in a court filing that was among dozens submitted before Thursday’s special session.

Their warnings underscore the stakes in the most consequential presidential election case since the 5-4 Bush v. Gore decisionended the 2000 deadlock and dealt a blow to the court’s reputation. The clash promises to not only be a pivot point in the rematch between Trump and Joe Biden, but also a test of whether Chief Justice John Roberts can avert a bitter split on a court whose conservative supermajority includes three of the former president’s appointees.