Supreme Court: “Obviously, direct control of medical practice in the states...
So said the unanimous Supreme Court in United States v. Linder, 268 U.S. 5 (1925). The opinion was written by McReynolds, and joined by the progressive Justices Brandeis and Holmes, along with the rest...
View ArticleObamacare in Wonderland
That’s the title of a new article by Gary Lawson and me, forthcoming in a symposium issue of Boston University’s American Journal of Law & Medicine. The Journal has a large readership among medical...
View ArticlePost-argument debate on the constitutionality of Obamacare
Held at Denver University, Sturm College of Law, on April 11. Debaters were University of Colorado Prof. Scott Moss and me. Moderator is DU Prof. Ann Scales. WMV, via ftp.
View ArticleHouse Tax bleg
In July 1798, Congress enacted a direct tax to raise revenue for national defense against France. The “House Tax” imposed taxes on land, houses, and slaves. As required by Article I, section 9, clause...
View ArticleNFIB as Marbury
My article yesterday for Scotusblog discussed the tremendous importance of the Court’s 7-2 use of the non-coercion rule to limit Spending Clause violations of State sovereignty and independence. The...
View ArticleIs the individual mandate a “tax” according to the original meaning?
Absolutely not. Rob Natelson explains why in this 27 minute podcast from iVoices.org.
View ArticleNext step: Repeal the individual mandate because it is unconstitutional
McCulloch v. Maryland had a very good day at the Supreme Court yesterday, with NFIB relying on and applying McCulloch‘s rules for when an enactment violates the Necessary and Proper Clause. What...
View ArticleChief Justice Roberts and the window tax
In NFIB v. Sebelius, Chief Justice Roberts imagined a hypothetical federal tax on windows, in order to bolster his point that the Court should treat the individual mandate as a “tax,” even though the...
View ArticleThe Bar Review version of NFIB v. Sebelius
Over at Scotusblog, I present the legal rules of NFIB v. Sebelius, as they might appear in a bar review outline, or in a student study aid for a Constitutional Law I class.
View ArticleHow a Conspiracy Cracked a Monopoly
Anyone interested in the constitutional debate over the “Affordable Care Act” should pick up a copy of the new book, A Conspiracy Against Obamacare: The Volokh Conspiracy and the Health Care Case. This...
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