Oral Argument on the Individual Mandate: Justice Kennedy's Questions

In this post I set forth all of the questions that Justice Kennedy asked the three attorneys at oral argument today in the health care case. Evaluate for yourself which way this "swing justice" is tending.

2011-2012 Supreme Court Term: Oral Argument by Amicus Curiae on the Anti-Injunction Act

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today on the issue of whether the Anti-Injunction Act applies to the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act.  The transcript of oral argument is available here.  The bottom line is that it looks like the Supreme Court will proceed to the merits and decide whether the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

Health Care Briefs: Amicus Briefs Attempting to Protect Specific Provisions of the Affordable Care Act

In the event that the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, the Court will have to decide whether the remainder of the Act, or certain provisions of the Act, are "severable" from the individual mandate and therefore constitutional.  A number of organizations have filed amicus briefs asking the Court to spare specific provisions of the Act.  The number and significance of these provisions remind us how vast and encompassing this law is, and how unlikely it is that the Supreme Court will declare it unconstitutional.