On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that people who are injured or killed by the side effects of vaccines cannot sue vaccine manufacturers for alleged design defects. Another day, another victory in the Supreme Court for a business defendant—and another victory for preemption, the legal doctrine under which state law can be [...]
The litigation over Rahm Emanuel’s eligibility to be on the ballot for Mayor of Chicago illustrates a type of argument that can often be very effective. The statute at issue can plausibly be construed in Emanuel’s favor – but, as the decision of the appellate court indicates, this construction is not inevitable. Emanuel has plausible [...]
At the initiative of House Republicans, the House recently changed its rules to allow the reading of the whole Constitution on the floor on the House’s opening day and to require each bill introduced in the House to be accompanied by a statement in the Congressional Record “citing as specifically as practicable [...]
Judge Henry Hudson’s recent decision striking down the central provision of the health insurance reform statute has gotten (pardon the pun) nearly universal coverage in the legal blogosphere. But I was struck by a section of the opinion that has received little notice: the passage early in his opinion in which Judge [...]
Federal District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled on Monday that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate requiring citizens to purchase health care insurance amounts to an unconstitutional expansion of the Commerce Clause. The historic 42-page ruling can be found here. If the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms this decision and other courts find [...]