Background

ORAL ARGUMENTS SCHEDULE: (from The Washington Examiner)

Monday, March 26, 2012
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Justices consider whether a ruling on the health care law's individual mandate can be made at this time.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
10 a.m. to noon
Justices consider the core of the challenge - whether Congress exceeded its authority by enacting the individual mandate that forces individuals to purchase health insurance under the threat of a penalty.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Justices will consider the issue of "severability."  This will determine whether, if the mandate is found unconstitutional, the rest of the law stands or is struck down as inseparably linked.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Justices consider whether the health care law's expansion of the Medicade program violates the Constitution by coercing states into taking on a massive financial burden.

EXPLANATION OF PROCEDURE FOR ORAL ARGUMENTS IN THE SUPREME COURT:
(from supremecourt.gov/visiting/visitorsguidetooralargument.aspx)

• A case selected for argument usually involves interpretations of the U. S. Constitution or federal law. At least four Justices have selected the case as being of such importance that the Supreme Court must resolve the legal issues.
• An attorney for each side of a case will have an opportunity to make a presentation to the Court and answer questions posed by the Justices. Prior to the argument each side has submitted a legal brief - a written legal argument outlining each party’s points of law. The Justices have read these briefs prior to argument and are thoroughly familiar with the case, its facts, and the legal positions that each party is advocating.
• Beginning the first Monday in October, the Court generally hears two one-hour arguments a day, at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., with occasional afternoon sessions scheduled as necessary. Arguments are held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in two-week intervals through late April (with longer breaks during December and February). The argument calendars are posted on the Court’s Website under the "Oral Arguments" link. In the recesses between argument sessions, the Justices are busy writing opinions, deciding which cases to hear in the future, and reading the briefs for the next argument session. They grant review in approximately 100 of the more than 10,000 petitions filed with the Court each term. No one knows exactly when a decision will be handed down by the Court in an argued case, nor is there a set time period in which the Justices must reach a decision. However, all cases argued during a term of Court are decided before the summer recess begins, usually by the end of June.
• During an argument week, the Justices meet in a private conference, closed even to staff, to discuss the cases and to take a preliminary vote on each case. If the Chief Justice is in the majority on a case decision, he decides who will write the opinion. He may decide to write it himself or he may assign that duty to any other Justice in the majority. If the Chief Justice is in the minority, the Justice in the majority who has the most seniority assumes the assignment duty.

 

How the health care case is different from other challenges heard by the Supreme Court:

• Supreme Court arguments over President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul will stretch over three days, beginning March 26, the court said Monday.
• A typical case is allotted an hour for argument, but the court scheduled five and a half hours for the health-care case, reflecting how novel some of the questions are and the importance of a dispute that could define the limits of federal power for decades to come. (from wsj.com)

 

Breakdown of the issues to be argued:

• The main part will take place on Tuesday, March 27, with a two-hour argument over the minimum-coverage provision, which starting in 2014 will require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. Challengers argue that Congress lacks the power to impose such a requirement, while the Obama administration maintains that it does under its constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce, levy taxes and enact any "necessary and proper" laws.
• At the March 28 morning session, the court will hear a 90-minute morning argument over which portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as the health law is titled, can survive if the individual-insurance mandate is struck down. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta--the only one of four federal appeals courts to find any portion of the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional--held that the balance of the law can stand.
• The government, however, argues that if the individual mandate falls, so too must the requirement that insurance companies take all comers and the ban on surcharges for pre-existing conditions. Those two provisions, the government says, are only feasible if the insurance pool is expanded to include younger, healthier people whose premiums will balance the costs.
• The challengers, including 26 Republican-controlled states, contend that if the individual mandate goes, the entire Affordable Care Act must also be thrown out.
• A one-hour session is scheduled for the afternoon of March 28 to hear those states' claim that provisions expanding the Medicaid program are unconstitutional. The states say Congress can't force them to spend more on Medicaid. The Atlanta court rejected that argument, holding that states knew that Washington could change the terms of the Medicaid program when they joined it and remain free to withdraw from Medicaid entirely if they prefer.
• A less-discussed issue is to be argued first, for one hour on March 26. The question is whether the entire case needs to be shelved because of a federal law requiring taxpayers to pay their assessments before challenging a levy's legality. One federal appeals court, in Richmond, Va., found this law applies to the Affordable Care Act.
• That court found that the penalty for noncompliance, which is to be collected by the Internal Revenue Service along with individual tax returns, was similar enough to a tax to fall under the provision. Both the Obama administration and the challengers disagree, but the Supreme Court was sufficiently interested in the question to schedule a hearing anyway and hire an attorney to present the argument. (from wsj.com)

 

On the Supreme Court from BensGuide.gpo.gov:

• Approximately 7,500 cases are sent to the Supreme Court each year. Out of these, only 80 to 100 are actually heard by the Supreme Court. When a case comes to the Supreme Court, several things happen. First, the Justices decide if a case is worthy of being brought before the Court. In other words, does the case really involve Constitutional or federal law? Secondly, a Supreme Court ruling can affect the outcome of hundreds or even thousands of cases in lower courts around the country. Therefore, the Court tries to use this enormous power only when a case presents a pressing constitutional issue. ...
• The Supreme Court convenes the first Monday in October. It stays in session usually until late June of the next year. When they are not hearing cases, the Justices do legal research and write opinions. On Fridays, they meet in private (in "conference") to discuss cases they've heard and to vote on them. ...
• Most cases do not start in the Supreme Court. Usually cases are first brought in front of lower (state or federal) courts. Each disputing party is made up of a petitioner and a respondent.
• Once the lower court makes a decisions, if the losing party does not think that justice was served, s/he may appeal the case, or bring it to a higher court. In the state court system, these higher courts are called appellate courts. In the federal court system, the lower courts are called United States District Courts and the higher courts are called United States Courts of Appeals.
• If the higher court's ruling disagrees with the lower court's ruling, the original decision is overturned. If the higher court's ruling agrees with the lower court's decision, then the losing party may ask that the case be taken to the Supreme Court. But ... only cases involving federal or Constitutional law are brought to the highest court in the land.