Conflicts in health care legislation

Three cases the Supreme Court might hear during its term that began Oct. 3 include President Obama’s health care act, the authority of local police to arrest illegal immigrants and amending affirmative action cases at college and universities.

The court is asked to review about 8,000 cases per year by appeal, but they only accept 75 or 80. None of the above cases has been accepted by the court for review as of this date. If the court takes the cases on appeal, the decisions will be handed down in June 2012.

In the health care issue, the question is whether Congress can make everyone purchase health care or pay a penalty if they do not. If Obamacare legislation is upheld, the government could cover every phase of a person’s life.

If the court refuses to hear the health care case, the rulings of the lower courts would stand. Supreme Court cases are assigned to the most senior justice in the majority group, or to the chief justice if he voted with the majority. The chief justice may choose to write the opinion, or he may assign the task to another senior member of the majority, such as Antonin Scalia, who vociferously opposes the idea of a living constitution or the power of the judiciary to modify the meaning of the constitutional provisions to adopt them to changing times.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. probably will render the decision. He comes from a conservative tradition that believes in limits on the powers of the federal government and a limited role for judges in deciding highly political questions.

The above two principles are in conflict with the legality of the health care case legislation.

J. Gerard Sitter, president

Lawyers for Constitutional Correctness

Elmhurst