Beyond the Declaration of Independence: Of Wisdom, Virtue, and Principles of Government
The great end of government and laws is human happiness; the rulers ought, therefore, to understand and know on what it consists; and the means of producing it. — Hon. Jesse Root, “On the Principles and End of Government” The summer of 1776 was quite productive in the annals of American intellectual and legal thought. [...]
The Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare) may be the Supreme Court equivalent of the cat with nine lives. Or at least four. Starting with its decision in NFIB v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. 519 (2012), the Supreme Court has now turned aside three distinct lines of attack on the Act’s controversial “individual mandate” (which [...]
US Supreme Court upholds Affordable Care Act against Republican-led challenge
The US Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), rebuking a number of Republican-led states that want to see the law invalidated. The case, California v. Texas, was seen by many court observers as a sequel to the 2012 suit National Federation of Independent Business [...]
The Biden administration sent a letter to the US Supreme Court Wednesday informing them of the government’s change of position on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with Joe Biden’s government believing the ACA is constitutional. This letter comes three months after the court heard oral arguments in California v. Texas and presents a [...]
Supreme Court hears arguments in latest challenge to Affordable Care Act
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in California v. Texas, a case that could determine the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is the second time that the constitutionality of the ACA has been before the court, with the justices again being asked to review the individual mandate to buy health insurance as [...]
Many practitioners, to say nothing of members of the press, recently have come to ask: “What’s up with John Roberts? Has he become a liberal?” This, of course, started with National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, where the Chief Justice voted with the four liberal justices to uphold the Affordable Care Act. But it [...]
In Significant DACA-Rescission Ruling, Chief Justice Roberts Again "Threads the Needle"
The Supreme Court’s 5-4 invalidation, in Department of Homeland Security, et. al. v. Regents of the University of California, et. al. of the Trump Administration’s attempt to rescind the DACA program has obvious practical (if only temporary) significance for millions of Americans. The Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provided renewable two-year deferrals from [...]
Federal judge rules Florida felon pay-to-vote law unconstitutional
A federal judge ruled Sunday that Florida’s pay-to-vote law is unconstitutional when applied to ex-felons who are eligible to vote but genuinely unable to pay. Historically, under Florida law, convicted felons may be disenfranchised from voting. Recently, however, Amendment 4 was passed to restore the voting rights of felons, except those convicted of murder or [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in three cases Monday, including a challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual mandate. In California v. Texas, consolidated with Texas v. California, the court will hear arguments on the ACA to determine (1) whether the individual mandate to purchase minimum essential coverage is severable from the remainder [...]
On the last day of its 2018-2019 Term, the Supreme Court decided in Department of Commerce v. New York that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross could not add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census solely on the basis of the “contrived” and “pretextual” reason he cited (the need to better enforce the Voting Rights [...]
