Case:
Below, Prof. Sheldon Nahmod summarizes today’s complicated decision. Prof. Nahmod has also posted some additional thoughts on the opinion on his blog, NahmodLaw. Additionally, Oyez has posted its plain-English summary of the Court’s ruling.
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Opinion Announcements
With the momentous opinions this week in the Affordable Care Act cases and the Arizona immigration case, we’ve already received requests to post the bench statements by the justices. Unfortunately, the Court does not release recordings of these sessions to the National Archives until the beginning of the following term, usually sometime in October. We will transcribe and post the announcement recordings when we receive them later this year.
Called It!
Case:
Carolyn Shapiro, frequent Oyez contributor and director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States, appeared on Chicago Tonight yesterday evening. When asked about the outcome, she correctly predicted the Court would uphold the individual mandate.
The Winning Argument
Case:
The blockbuster decision by the Court to uphold the controversial Individual Mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act relied on an argument that, until today, most of the media had entirely overlooked.
During the last 10 minutes of Solicitor General Donald Verrilli’s argument in March on the Individual Mandate, the government argued that the provision was a valid exercise of Congressional power under the Taxing Clause. The justices, including the author of today’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts, focused on the key concern with the argument: Why did Congress not simply call the penalty a tax?
Court Finds Most of the Affordable Care Act Constitutional
Case:
The Court today issued a long, complex decision in the closely watched cases dealing with President Obama’s signature healthcare reform legislation. Oyez is working to assemble a simplified summary of the conclusion, but most provisions, including the controversial Individual Mandate, were upheld.
Follow the Healthcare Opinion Announcements Live
The Court doesn’t allow live broadcasts of its proceedings, and it won’t release the audio recordings of tomorrow’s opinion announcements until October, but you can still get play-by-play coverage of the Court’s decisions from our friends at SCOTUSblog, who will be live-blogging the Court’s session tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EDT.
Ten Things You Didn’t Know about the Supreme Court
David Letterman highlights ten things you didn’t know about the Court.
Update: The Daily Beast chimes in with 11 real facts you probably didn’t know about the Court.
Decision on Healthcare Cases Likely on Thursday
Case:
The Court today announced that the final session of the 2011 term will be this Thursday, June 28. This almost certainly means the Court will rule then on the closely watched cases involving President Obama’s signature healthcare reform legislation.
Court Strikes Down Most of Controversial Immigration Law
The Supreme Court today rejected most of the state of Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law as unconstitutionally infringing on the Federal government’s powers. While most of the law was struck down, one provision, which allows state law enforcement personell to inquire about immigration status where there is reasonable suspicion that an individual might be in the country illegally, was upheld, at least for now.
Oyez’s summary of the decision spells out exactly which provisions of the law the Court concluded were invalid.
Court Rules Life without Parole for Juveniles Unconstitutional
Case:
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the sentencing of two fourteen-year-old boys to life without parole violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.