Thursday, June 28, 2012

UPHELD AS A TAX

Wow. Just wow. Did not see that coming.

UPDATE: It appears to be 5-4, written by Roberts, with the four Democratic appointees joining.

UPDATE 2: They did something to limit the Medicaid provision, but it is not invalidated.

UPDATE 3: This from Tom Goldstein: "The bottom line: the entire ACA is upheld, with the exception that the federal government's power to terminate states' Medicaid funds is narrowly read."


UPDATE 4: Let me just say that the Chief deserves a fantastic amount of praise for staying true to his words of "judicial modesty" that he articulated at his confirmation hearings. Many of you may disagree with the result, which I completely understand. But this was a decidedly principled move by the Chief. And a courageous one, given all the pressure of expectations that he must have felt (at least internally) from the groups responsible for placing him on the Court. I know this is a very bitter disappointment to many who follow the Court and constitutional law, but I think it will work out well for the Court as an institution in the long run.