DOJ, Plaintiffs Asking for More Argument Time in Health Reform Law Case
On Friday, the Department of Justice on Friday filed a brief with the Supreme Court outlining a suggested schedule for the arguments in the multistate lawsuit against the federal health reform law, but the plaintiffs are disputing how much time should be allocated to each side, The New American reports (Wolverton, The New American, 2/6).
Both sides agreed that time spent on the tax law known as the Anti-Injunction Act should be increased from 60 minutes to 90 minutes. The DOJ brief says the extra time is needed because of the issue's importance, complexity of the legal matters and the participation of a court-appointed attorney, who will argue that the tax law bars consideration of the lawsuit.
However, the groups are debating how the 90 minutes should be divided. The plaintiffs on Friday said they will file a brief asking for more time.
The groups also are disputing how discussions on the issue of severability should be split up. DOJ has requested that it receive 30 minutes and that 30 minutes each are distributed to the plaintiffs and another court appointed attorney. However, the plaintiffs say they should have more time than the government (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 2/3).
States Up Against Overhaul Filing Deadline
In related news, Monday is the deadline for the 26 states involved in the lawsuit to file two briefs with the high court on the constitutionality of the health reform law and on the Anti-Injunction Act, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports.
The states are expected to argue that upholding the individual mandate would lead to more congressional mandates and give the government an unprecedented level of power (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 2/6).
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