Constitutional Accountability Center Statement on Victory in Supreme Court Health Care Case

June 28, 2012

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra: “The Supreme Court's ruling today is a victory for the rule of law and a death blow to the tea party.”

U.S. SUPREME COURT PLAZA (Washington, DC) – On news that the U.S. Supreme Court this morning handed down its decisions in the health care reform cases, Constitutional Accountability Center released the following statement:

CAC President Doug Kendall said, “Today’s ruling is on balance a huge victory for the Affordable Care Act and the rule of law. Justice Ginsburg’s powerful dissent best captures the Constitution’s text and history and the importance of the ACA to the lives of all Americans. But John Roberts became Chief Justice of the United States this week. Sitting at the middle of the Court, he navigated two politically charged cases in a way that should increase the Nation’s trust in his leadership of the Nation’s High Court.” Kendall continued, “Providing the fifth vote to uphold the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice Roberts broke from his fellow conservatives who would have invalidated the Act in its entirety.”

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra said, "The Supreme Court's ruling today is a victory for the rule of law and a death blow to the tea party. The Court has shown it can the put the law over politics even in the most contentious legal dispute of our times."

Resources:

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra, “Can health ruling sink tea party?” POLITICO, November 10, 2011: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68086.html

CAC President Doug Kendall: “Health Care Reform: Preserving Judicial Independence in a Partisan Age,” June 3, 2011: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-kendall/health-care-reform-preser_b_870988.html

CAC’s “friend of the court” briefs defending the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage provision and Medicaid expansion, on behalf of over 500 state legislators from all 50 states: http://www.theusconstitution.org/cases/us-department-health-human-services-v-florida

The Constitution at a Crossroads: "Regulating Commerce: Will the Supreme Court Strike Down the Affordable Care Act’s Minimum Coverage Provision and other Economic Regulation?" CAC, March 2012: http://theusconstitution.org/think-tank/crossroads/regulating-commerce-will-supreme-court-strike-down-affordable-care-act%E2%80%99s

CAC Issue Brief: "The States, Health Care Reform, and the Constitution" (pdf): http://bit.ly/u41P4G

CAC Issue Brief: “Setting the Record Straight: The Tea Party and the Constitutional Powers of the Federal Government” (pdf): http://bit.ly/e8uIXT

Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution's text and history.

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