With oral arguments now concluded, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide the fate of President Obama’s national health care law by the end of June. But, according to the Court’s Office of Public Information, the justices could decide to release their decisions in parts over a number of days.
To be clear, the office has not received any guidance one way or the other as to the justices’ intentions. But a representative did confirm that staggering the decisions was a theoretical possibility.
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Given that the Court heard arguments on four issues, it’s easy to see how this could play out.
For instance, on the first day, the court heard arguments about whether to apply the Anti-Injunction Act in this case, which has the potential to delay any decisions on the law’s underlying constitutionality until 2015. If the justices decide that the statute doesn’t apply and proceed to the merits of the challenges to the health care law — as is widely assumed — they could release their decision on the Anti-Injunction Act earlier.
Though the remaining issues are more interrelated, one could also see an opening for staggering them out. The justices could theoretically announce a decision on the mandate first and then take more time to consider severability. If they’re going to strike down all of the law anyway, the Medicaid challenge would have much less importance.
