By Anne King Back when the Supreme Court granted cert in the Affordable Care Act cases, there was much speculation on how, precisely, the Justices would view the minimum coverage provision of the statute under the Commerce Clause power. In two earlier posts (here and here), I highlighted several interesting (and less discussed) angles on the Commerce Clause discussed in three of the amicus briefs submitted in the Courts of Appeals cases. Those same amici – a group of states supporting ACA, …
“Smart”ALEC? How Stand Your Ground Laws Became Entrenched Nationwide
By Sushila Rao The distressing tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s death has also unwittingly drawn attention to the role played by an influential but hitherto low-profile organization in getting Stand Your Ground Laws enacted nation-wide. American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a business-funded group which describes itself as pursuing a nonpartisan agenda, but has been attacked by critics as a standard “movement-conservative organization, funded by the usual suspects,” including the Kochs …
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Trayvon Martin and Shaima Alawadi: The Beginning of a Movement
By Najan Farley Trayvon Martin’s shooting along with the beating death of Shaima Alawadi has elevated the serious issues of race and religion in the national discourse and consciousness. Although there are many who still debate the influence of race in the Trayvon Martin shooting, I am firmly of the opinion that race and gender were the most important factors in George Zimmerman’s decision to follow Martin and everything that occurred as a result, including Martin’s death. Similarly, Alawadi’s …
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How Predictive is Oral Argument Questioning?
By David Yin The mainstream media and legal blogosphere have covered the oral arguments in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act litigation (Dept. of Health and Human Services v. Florida) ad nauseam. The NYTimes certified, ”[t]here is no tea-leaf reading like Supreme Court tea-leaf reading” and excerpted commentary from notable sources: Lyle Denniston from SCOTUSBlog determined that the argument ended “with Kennedy, after first displaying a very deep skepticism, leaving the impression …
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Its ‘Regulation’ if You’re Already There
By Mark Wilson Reading the brief for the states opposing the Affordable Care Act, one is properly acquainted with the definition of a Jeremiad: “a prolonged lamentation or complaint; also, a cautionary or angry harangue.” The states’ brief is lean on legal arguments and long on exhortations that, if the Supreme Court upholds the mandatory coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act, we’re that much closer to a totalitarian dystopian society. The states’ focus — and, it turns out, the focus …
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Trayvon’s Killing Exposes Festering Wounds of Racism
By Billy Corriher When the lives of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin collided on February 26, neither one could have understood what was happening. Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer, and he mistakenly thought this skinny teenager, walking down the street with candy, was some sort of threat. Martin, on the other hand, had no idea why this stranger was staring at him and following him. Visiting his father in Sanford, Florida, Martin had grown up in Miami, a diverse city where …
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