Yesterday the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia became the second appellate court to uphold the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
A relatively short 37 page opinion was handed down by Judge Laurence H. Silberman and represented a 2-1 decision. In the majority ruling, Judge Silberman directly addressed the core issue of the individual mandate.
The Judge acknowledged that while
…a direct requirement for most Americans to purchase any product or service seems an intrusive exercise of legislative power surely explains why Congress has not used this authority before–but that seems to us a political judgment rather than a recognition of constitutional limitations. It certainly is an encroachment on individual liberty, but it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race… .
The decision further argues that
The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute, and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems, no matter how local–or seemingly passive–their individual origins.
Judge Silberman was appointed to the appellate court in October, 1985 by President Ronald Regan and became a senior judge on November 1, 2000. The ruling is an important empirical victory for the Obama Administration because the Reagan appointee is considered one of the leading conservative jurists on the bench.
Judge Silberman was joined in his opinion by Carter appointee, Judge Harry T. Edwards.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by George W. Bush, wrote a 65 page dissenting opinion but it is critical to understand that Judge Kavanaugh’s opinion noted that he would have dismissed the case on jurisdictional issues only and did not address the merits of the case.
This decision is the second appellate court to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act on the merits. It is also the second conservative jurist appointed by a Republican president to uphold the mandate. Opponents of the health care law felt somewhat secure in their belief that Republican appointees would strike down the law. This did happen in the lower courts but Appellate Courts are less politically motivated and often exercise more independent thought.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to review the cases it will accept for argument this thursday in private conference.
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