The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s petition requesting that the high court expedite the normal appellate process and consider Virginia’s lawsuit against the federal health care overhaul. The move was not unexpected, as the court rarely grants such petitions, and a hearing in the case has already been scheduled for next month in the U.S. Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
Cuccinelli said the petition for expedited review was to remove “crippling and costly uncertainty” surrounding the law as quickly as possible. But the Justice Department, which is defending the health care reforms, has maintained that there is sufficient time for the issue to work through the appellate process.
“This case’s logical end point is the Supreme Court,” said Cuccinelli. “It will simply have to make its way through the Fourth Circuit first.”
Stephen Wermiel of American University’s Washington College of Law, said the move was a “long-shot strategy” from Cuccinelli, and that the justices like to have the benefit of lower court rulings before making their decisions.
“There’s time for the court to give careful deliberation to this,” he said.
The Fourth Circuit previously agreed to a joint motion from the Justice Department and Cuccinelli to expedite the hearing in the case.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled in December that the provision in the law mandating that most Americans eventually purchase health insurance or pay a penalty is unconstitutional. Hudson declined, however, to declare the entire law invalid. The federal government has argued that the new law lies within the boundaries of Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce.
In a separate lawsuit brought by more than two dozen states in Florida, Judge Roger Vinson declared the entire law unconstitutional. That case is also working its way through the appellate process.
Three other federal judges, including one in Virginia, have upheld the federal health care law as constitutional. One of those cases, brought by Liberty University, is scheduled to be heard in the appellate court in Richmond on May 10, as is Cuccinelli’s.
Despite the Supreme Court decision Monday, the relatively quick timeline in the various cases could mean that the justices will be weighing the hot-button issue sometime next year — just as campaigning for the 2012 presidential election shifts into full gear.
