Obama care

Obama care passed the Supreme Court’s scrutiny. No matter whether it was upheld of declared unconstitutional, the would have been (and is) loud recriminations form the “loser.”

After the dust has settled, we listen to the “experts” on the tv. These “experts” make interesting tv, but depending on the tv station are more political than really discussing the legal import of the decision.

Two very important things occurred last week. The biggest impact of the decision (which was barely discussed by the media) is what is not in the decision.

Rather, we now have a “new Sheriff in town” and that man is Chief Justice Roberts. His decision to break away from the conservative right of the bench indicates his willingness and intention to be his own person and truly make this the “Roberts court”.

Roberts has a conservative bend on the law. He could have easily decided like the four other conservatives and struck down the law. Rather, he left that camp and agreed with the left portion of the court that the “individual mandate” is in effect a tax. If it is a tax, then the constitution permits the Congress to levy “taxes.” As such, it is constitutional.

This is reminiscent of Justice Earl Warren who was appointed by then President Eisenhower. Chief Justice Warren was perceived as a conservative. But during his tenure (1960’s), some of the most Progressive rulings emerged from his Court. Now, with Justice Roberts being his own man—so to speak -- the future of the decisions of the supreme court will not be as predictable.

I have heard conservative pundits decry he is Benedict Arnold or he engaged in judicial activism. Neither is the case. The conservatives judicial mantra is a strict interpretation of the constitution. That’s what Roberts did. It is clearly spelled out in the constitution that congress has the power to levy taxes. As such, he was conservative and abided by the constitution. Unfortunately, that decision making process is inconsistent with the political right’s position on Obamacare, President Obama and the Democrats.

So when you hear on tv that Roberts became a judicial activist, it just is not legally true.

The Law Offices of John M. Amorison serves clients in Clifton, Passaic, Montclair, Paterson, Nutley, Belleville, Fair Lawn, Lyndhurst, Littel Falls and Passaic county, Bergen County, Essex County. Law Offices of John M. Amorison 1050 Clifton Avenue, 2nd Floor Clifton, NJ 07013

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