The Supreme Court and Obamacare

The Supreme Court has what is known as private conferences.  At these meetings the Justices decide what cases they will hear, and what cases they will not hear.

On November 10, the private conference, among other things, will deal with the various Petitions for Writ of Certiorari (known to everyone else as, “please hear my case”) concerning Obamacare.  And, there are many such petitions.

  • The challenge by Florida and 25 other states, which won a ruling in the 11th Circuit that the individual mandate was unconstitutional
  • A separate legal challenge in the 11th Circuit from the National Federation of Independent Business which asks for the entire law to be struck down, not just the individual mandate
  • A case in the 6th Circuit, where a three judge panel ruled in favor of the Obama Administration, upholding the health reform law
  • An appeal by Liberty University to a Fourth Circuit ruling that the college did not have the standing to challenge the insurance mandate
  • A similar appeal by the Commonwealth of Virginia, as the state tries to protect its citizens from the individual mandate
  • There is a separate petition from the Justice Department that also zeroes in on whether legal challenges are premature because the details of the individual mandate have not yet gone into effect. 

 The Court will not decide the case on November 10, but will only decide which, if any, petitions to hear.  Then again, the Court could decide to defer any decision on which petitions to hear (if any) until a later date.

But, in something I have never seen before, The Supreme Court now has a web page devoted solely to Obamacare.  You can click on any of the cases listed and find out what the Court has decided as to each Petition for Writ of Certiorari.

 

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

2 Comments

  1. JBS on October 29, 2011 at 10:27 am

    “Can’t rule on it until it takes effect,” sounds somewhat like the Volstead Act. After that Act was put into law, it drove many private distillers and brewers out of business. Yes, there was some bourbon distilled for “medical” purposes. But, the biggest thing, an unintended consequence, was the rise of organized crime. While I don’t see the Mafia involved in providing an alternative to ObamaCare, the notion that we have to put the law into effect to judge its merits seems totally wrong. Frustrating!



  2. Lynn on October 30, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    SOS, Thanks as always. Love to keep up with this Obamanation.



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