Talk Elections

While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cases are the most prominent, they aren't the only decision expected to be handed down today. As soon as the slip opinions are up on the supreme court site, I'll add the links and start parsing them.  I'm having trouble accessing the Stolen Valor slip right now, even tho a link is up.

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2.pdf)

This board has a dedicated thread (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=121894.0) for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cases.

Roberts apparently joined the liberal wing in finding the mandate to be a tax, but the Medicaid provisions got struck 7-2 with Ginsburg and Sotomayor in dissent.

Ginsburg apparently wrote a concurrence for the liberal wing asserting that it could have been upheld under the Commerce Clause.

Kennedy wrote the dissent which would have struck the whole bill.

United States v. Alvarez (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-210d4e9.pdf)

The Stolen Valor Act has been struck 6-3.

Kennedy, joined by Roberts, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor found that the Act needed to pass strict scrutiny, but did not.

Breyer was joined by Kagan in finding that the Act needed to pass only intermediate scrutiny, but was unable to meet that less restrictive standard either.

Alito was joined by Thomas and Scalia in his dissent.

I do find it somewhat odd that Kennedy's opinion in listed as the opinion of the court.  Granted, Breyer and Kagan clearly agreed that the Act did not pass strict scrutiny since it could not pass intermediate scrutiny, but clearly a majority of the court rejected that such a standard needed to be met.

First American Financial Corp. v. Edwards (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-7081b2d.pdf)

Dismissed per curium as a wrongly granted writ of certiorari.