Greenwald points out a little known detail about the strip search decision: What virtually none of this anti-Florence commentary mentioned, though, was that the Obama DOJ formally urged the Court to reach the conclusion it reached. While the Obama administration and court conservatives have been at odds in a handful of high-profile cases (most notably Citizens United and the health care law), this is yet … Read More
Conservatives Against Amendment One
Lots of them….
Who Has Got The Heavy Burden?
In the most recent New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin takes Supreme Court Justice Kennedy to task: It’s well known by now that Donald Verrilli, Jr., the Solicitor General, had an off day at the Supreme Court last Tuesday, when he was called on to defend the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the part of the Affordable Care Act which requires people … Read More
So What If The Mandate Fails
If the Supreme Court decides it doesn't like the individual mandate, what happens to the rest of Obamacare? The Supreme Court can go three ways: (1) If the mandate falls, the rest of the law stands. The outcome: The narrowest ruling the Supreme Court could issue would be one where the individual mandate falls by itself but leaves the rest of … Read More
What’s Being Argued Today — A Summary for Layman
At the heart of health care reform lies the individual mandate, which makes it so that individuals must purchase health insurance or else face a fine assessed by the government. The question before the Court will be whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause to require that individuals purchase health insurance. The Commerce Clause states that “the Congress shall have … Read More
Supreme Court Starts Hearing Arguments in the “Obamacare” Case
Is the Affordable Care Act consitutional? The lower courts are divided, and today the Supreme Court beings three days of oral arguments on the matter. Somewhat oddly, the most controversial part of the legislation — the individual mandate which requires everyone to purchase health insurance (or pay a fine if they don't) — is only slotted for 90 minutes of … Read More
This Cartoon Says It All
I was going to write a lengthier post on the subject, particularly as it pertains to the whole contraception/Catholicism controversy, but I'm sure I would never find the time. And indeed, this graphic makes the point pretty well. Religious freedom, as protected by the First Amendment, means that each person should be allowed to follow the dictates of their own … Read More
Great Quotes From The 9th Circuit’s “Prop 8” Opinion
I think Judge Stephen Reinhardt enjoyed himself writing this opinion, given the way he (subtly) sticks it to the Prop 8 supporters: 1. "[M]arriage is the name that society gives to the relationship that matters most between two adults. A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but to the couple desiring to enter into a committed lifelong relationship, … Read More
The Controversy That’s Not
Culture wars again? There seems to be a LOT of misinformation about this latest so-called "controversy" involving the Obama administration and the Catholic Church and birth control. To hear some people talk about it, you would think that the Obama administration is forcing Catholic institutions to go out and purchase birth control against their will. Let's be clear: the Obama administration … Read More
Warrants Needed For GPS Monitoring
It's kind of tough translating a 200+ year old document like the Constitution to modern-day technology. Conservatives would rather we don't do it at all, sticking to the letter of the document (i.e., "if the Constitution was silent about privacy, then privacy is not protected"). But once in a while, the Supreme Court gets it right: The Supreme Court ruled … Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Forsyth County Prayer Case
Good local First Amendment news: WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a North Carolina county commission over the mostly Christian prayers offered at the beginning of its public meetings. The justices on Tuesday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that held that the predominantly Christian prayers at the start of Forsyth County commission meetings violated … Read More
More Lies At Patterico
Aaron Worthing again, making things up as he goes along, writes: And the founders clearly always contemplated corporations and similar business organizations having an outsized say in the political process. Whaaaa?!? This is demonstrably untrue. First, let’s state the obvious. In the Constitution, it says “We the people…”, not “We the corporations…”. The founding fathers never addressed corporations in the … Read More
CA Supreme Court: Prop 8 Supporters Have Standing
It's been a while since Prop 8 has been in the news, but here it is: The California Supreme Court on Thursday handed supporters of Proposition 8 the legal right to defend the state's ban on same-sex marriage, sending the case back to a federal appeals court to resolve the broader questions at the heart of the constitutional showdown. In … Read More
The Supreme Court Healthcare Challenge… in Plain English
Kudos to Amy Howe at SCOTUSBLOG, for summarizing "in plain English" where we stand with the legal challenges to Obamacare. Saved me a whole afternoon. I reprint it here in full. The health care grants: In Plain English On Monday morning, at exactly ten o’clock, the Court released its list of orders resulting from the Justices’ private Conference at the … Read More
Ultraconservative DC Circuit Judge Upholds Obamacare
Opinion here. Very well reasoned, and does a great job shooting down the legal arguments of those who think the individual mandate is unconstitutional. UPDATE: Obviously, other circuit courts have adjudicated on the merits of Obamacare and this will all go to the U.S. Supreme Court. But this means that three appellate courts have now considered the health care … Read More