The Health Care Cases: Instant Uninformed Reaction!!

1)  Wow.  On the specific issue here, I’ll take it.

2)  Environmental lawyers will need to look at this decision very carefully.  From an initial very quick parsing, it appears as if Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion has cut back the scope of Commerce Clause authority and under the Necessary and Proper Clause as well as limiting the ability of the Federal Government to condition federal spending to states’ action.  All of these provisions very directly concern the scope of environmental statutes.  How much the opinion cuts these things back, I don’t know.

Overall: conservatives may have lost the battle here, but General Roberts has laid the groundwork for successful campaigns in the future.  Whatever else he is, the Chief Justice is a very smart man.

Commerce Clause, health care reform, John Roberts, Necessary and Proper Clause