Why Kagan Has Skin in the Game

In my last post I argued that Justice Elana Kagan is obliged by 28 U.S.C. 455 (b)(3) of the federal recusal statute, which applies to Supreme Court justices, to recuse herself from the challenge to the Obama Health Care law. The provision requires a judge to recuse if he or she “has served in …

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Written by Howard Foster on Monday December 5, 2011

Res Judicata: The Case for Kagan's Recusal

The Solicitor General of the U.S. (a position Elana Kagan held in 2010) is the government’s advocate in every case heard in any federal court. Typically the Solicitor will personally argue some cases in the Supreme Court. He or she will certainly be involved with any case that challenges the …

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Written by Howard Foster on Monday November 28, 2011

A Decision That Will Set Libertarians' Hair on Fire

Judge Silberman has issued another tour de force in the extremely interesting opinions generated by Obamacare. I have noted other opinions on Obamacare’s constitutionality but this one is full of interesting tidbits. The first and most interesting tidbit is who wrote it. The Honorable …

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Written by John Vecchione on Tuesday November 8, 2011

Who is Judge Silberman?

Who is Laurence H. Silberman, the judge who has just written a ruling for the DC Appellate court upholding the President’s healthcare law? He is a judge who came of age at the time when conservatives were responding to the activism of the Supreme Court in the 50's and 60's. He is a …

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Written by Noah Kristula-Green on Tuesday November 8, 2011

Now SCOTUS Has to Rule on Obamacare

By a 2-1 vote a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama's healthcare law. The plaintiffs, taxpayers rather than states, contended that the mandate to purchase health …

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Written by Howard Foster on Tuesday November 8, 2011

Worry About Costs, Not Mandates

Revelatory Headline : "White House used Mitt Romney health-care law as blueprint for federal law." I am no fan of Obamacare. The notion that a top down system will control costs flies in the face of the fact that virtually every advanced country on earth that has a top-down scheme to manage its …

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Written by Stanley Goldfarb on Tuesday October 11, 2011

Obamacare Won't Die in the Courts

The Sixth Circuit's decision upholding the constitutionality of Obamacare is a death knell for the current strategy to repeal the bill. The Sixth Circuit's decision upholding the constitutionality of President Obama's massive health reform bill is a death knell for the current Republican strategy …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Wednesday June 29, 2011

Obamacare Divides the Sixth Circuit Court

The many opinions from the Sixth Circuit Court show why you can't predict judges based on who appointed them. Say what you want about Obamacare, it has generated tremendous opinions on first principles of Congressional and Constitutional power.  A little while ago, the Sixth Circuit rejected a …

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Written by John Vecchione on Wednesday June 29, 2011