An opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Henry Ford Health System v. Department of Health and Human Services begins: “My effort is in the direction of simplicity,” once wrote the namesake of the Henry Ford Hospital. Henry Ford, My Life and Work 13 (Garden City Publ’g Co. 1922). Mr. […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Do Sex Offender Registries Reduce Sex Offenses?
Today, in Anderson v. Holder, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge to the District of Columbia’s sex offender registry. Specifically, the court rejected a claim that the law enacting the registry violated the Constitution’s Ex Post Facto clause because it required individuals to register who had committed covered […]
The Eleventh Circuit on the Class of Activities the Mandate Regulates
As regular VC readers know, I believe a central issue in the individual mandate regulation is properly defining the class of activities regulated by the mandate. (See, e.g., here and here.) This is important because this determination is central to the question of whether the mandate represents a permissible exercise of the commerce power. Among […]
Distinguishing Wickard
By Jonathan H. Adler on August 14, 2011 12:59 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate
Another interesting portion of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision striking down the individual mandate is its discussion of Wickard v. Filburn. As the court’s opinion notes, the Supreme Court (in Lopez) characterized Wickard as “perhaps the most far reaching example of Commerce Clause authority over intrastate activity.” As a consequence, the Eleventh Circuit concluded, Wickard “provides […]
Has TSA Learned Its Lesson?
Noah Shachtman suggests the Transportation Security Administration may (finally) be adopting a more rational approach to airport security. Let’s hope so.
The Eleventh Circuit on the “Unprecedented” Mandate
One of the more interesting passages of the Eleventh Circuit’ decision striking down the individual mandate concerns the “unprecedented” nature of the mandate – a subject that has been much discussed on this blog (see, e.g., here). After cataloging some of the uses to which Congress has put the commerce power, the court observes the […]
Three Judges, Four Opinions
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in Estate of Mark Parsons v. Palestinian Authority. The case is interesting in its own right, concerning whether the Palestinian Authority can be held liable for Mark Parsons death under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991, but so is the disposition. The three […]
The Mandate and the “Mainstream”
By Jonathan H. Adler on August 12, 2011 2:34 pm in Academia, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate
Some prominent academics have argued that the individual mandate is a clearly constitutional exercise of the federal government’s taxing power. Some of these same academics have argued that opponents of the individual mandate’s constitutionality are well outside the legal mainstream. Yet as of today, there has not been a single federal court — indeed, perhaps […]
BREAKING – Eleventh Circuit Declares Individual Mandate Unconstitutional
The Reuters story is here. Opinion should be available soon on the Eleventh Circuit’s website. UPDATE: The very lengthy opinion is here. The court split 2-1. Judges Hull and Dubina jointly issued the opinion of the court. Judge Marcus dissented. The court concludes the mandate cannot be justified under either the taxing power or commerce […]
The Stumpf Sequel
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted death row inmate John David Stumpf’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus for a second time – seven years after its first habeas grant, six years after the Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision, and four years after the subsequent oral argument. As […]
Utter Climate Ignorance
I have my share of disagreements with Jonathan Zasloff, particularly on matters of environmental law and policy (see, e.g., here), but his attack on Fox News’ alleged climate “expert” Joe Bastardi hits the mark. There are reasonable bases upon which to question some aspects of global warming, including some of the more dire computer model […]
What Does the Mandate Regulate?
Today SCOTUSBlog has posted my contribution to its symposium on “The Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.” It begins: The public debate over the constitutionality of the individual mandate tends to focus on whether it is a permissible exercise of the power to “regulate commerce . . . among the several states.” This is no […]
Monday Bear Blogging
Blogging’s been light because we’ve been on the road. Sunday morning we caught a glimpse of another brown bear in the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park in Gallatin Canyon. One picture came out okay — but it was nothing compared to the moose picture we were able to get last night in the Tetons.
Crop Diversity Revisited
Does a decline in crop diversity threaten future food production? A report in the August 2011 National Geographic suggests so. The article, “Food Ark,” reports that the “extinction” of food varieties could be a real problem. Food varieties extinction is happening all over the world—and it’s happening fast. In the United States an estimated 90 […]
Montesquieu on Climate
From Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, Book XIV: Cold air constringes the extremities of the external fibres of the body; this increases their elasticity, and favours the return of the blood from the extreme parts to the heart. It contracts those very fibres; consequently it increases also their force. On the contrary, warm air relaxes […]