Random: Three Democrats Will Hear Fourth Circuit Appeal on ObamaCare

This isn't the 11th Circuit (which will consider Judge Roger Vinson's more expansive ruling on the unconstitutionality of ObamaCare), but one of the rulings against it will fall on very administration-friendly ears -- two of the judges selected are Obama appointees.

For balance, the third judge was appointed by the husband of Obama's Secretary of State.

According to the Fourth Circuit, the panel is chosen by "a computer program designed to achieve total random selection."

In certain cases, the entire court will rehear a case, what's referred to as en banc, but only if a majority of all active judges in the circuit agree to it. While once seen as a very conservative court, the Fourth Circuit has become more liberal over time, especially in the past few years, because Obama has been able to name four judges to the court.

In the first of the two suits, to be heard at 9:30 am, Liberty University will challenge the constitutionality of the law's mandate that forces individuals to purchase insurance or pay a fine as well the requirement that larger employers offer insurance.

After 40 minutes of oral arguments, the judges will move to the next suit, in which the state of Virginia will challenge the individual mandate as a threat to state's rights and personal liberty.

The Obama administration will seek to have the suits thrown out, arguing that the parties lack standing to sue, or dismissed on the grounds that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress broad regulatory authority allowing them to require the purchase of health insurance.

...

At the lower court level, one federal judge dismissed the Liberty University lawsuit while another judge agreed with the state of Virginia that the health care law's individual mandate was unconstitutional.

Just to note, this is by Phillip Klein at the conservative-leaning Washington Examiner. I note that because the liberal media always makes a big issue of judge's partisan affiliations when they rule against Obama... but strangely not so much when Democrats rule with Obama. Klein is of course outside of that rule, as he's not the liberal media.

posted by Ace at 01:41 PM

| Access Comments