'Curious legal ruling': Legal expert says she was 'caught off guard' by Colorado decision

In her ruling to keep former president Donald Trump on the 2024 ballot in Colorado, the judge confirmed that he indeed committed insurrection back on Jan. 6 when he revved up a crowd to "Stop The Steal" — but he wasn't an officer of the U.S.

That's the takeaway that former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance is left with in what she described as an odd ruling during an appearance on MSNBC's "The Last Word" with Lawrence O'Donnell on Friday.

"It's a really interesting ruling and I have to confess this one caught the off guard too," she said. "What the judge is saying is that under this provision of law Trump has to be an officer of the United States when he previously took an oath and then engaged in insurrection."

"Those are the conditions you have to meet to be excluded from the ballot."

ALSO READ: Selling hate, vulgarity and violence: How Trump and MAGA overran a quaint Midwest festival

In her ruling, District Judge Sarah Wallace explained that Trump wasn't in the capacity of a sworn-in officer when he was standing before a massive crowd who then stormed the Capitol building to hold up congress from certifying the election results.

Vance added that, "The judge after making this tremendous finding that Trump... in fact was involved in insurrection .. but I'm not going to order that he be removed from the ballot because he was not an officer of the United States."

Though the clause was aggressively enforced against ex-Confederates for several years following its ratification, it has been used in only a handful of cases since 1872.

The case will likely be fated for an appeal and ultimately head to the highest court in the state.

"So that's a curious legal ruling," said Vance. "It will now go on appeal, and this will end up in the Colorado Supreme Court."

Watch the video below or click here.