The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday announced the briefing schedule in the closely-watched challenges involving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
On the scheduling, the justices took the recommendations offered in a letter to the Court by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. The solicitor general told the justices that counsel for the parties and the Court-appointed amici had agreed to the proposed schedules.
The justices did not announce an argument date, but March is still considered the likely session. They also rejected a request to expand the Court’s word limits to 20,000 words for the briefs by petitioners and respondents on the minimum coverage issue, and to 8,000 words for the reply brief. The Court, in its order, said the word limits would be 16,500 words for the main briefs—an increase from the 15,000-word limit-- and 6,600 words for the reply brief—an increase of 600 words.
The justices granted review in November on four separate issues: whether Congress had authority under Article I of the Constitution to enact the minimum coverage provision; whether the Anti-Injunction Act bars the suit challenging the minimum coverage provision; whether the health law’s expansion of Medicaid eligibility exceeds Congress’ spending power, and whether the minimum coverage provision is severable from the law. The Court has set aside a total 5.5 hours of argument time.
The first brief deadline is January 6 and the last—reply briefs on the severability question—are due March 13.
The Court hears arguments next year in the weeks of March 19 and 26 and April 16 and 23. Verrilli told the Court that the parties and Court-appointed amici are conferring on how to allocate argument time and would notify the justices of the result “in the near future.”
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Posted by: George E. Bourguignon, Jr. | December 08, 2011 at 08:06 PM