Is the So-Called Mandate Without Any Tax Consequences Unconstitutional? And If So, How Should a Court Remedy That? Part Three in a Series Examining Underexplored Issues in the California v. Texas Affordable Care Act Case

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR, EVAN CAMINKER, JASON MAZZONE

In this third of a series of columns examining underexplored issues in the California v. Texas case challenging the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Illinois law dean Vikram David Amar, Michigan Law dean emeritus Evan Caminker, and Illinois law professor Jason Mazzone consider whether the so-called individual mandate of the ACA, now without any tax consequences, is unconstitutional, as the challengers argue. The authors explain why, in their view, the challengers are incorrect, regardless of whether the word “shall” in the ACA is interpreted as obligatory or not.

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Bandy v. Vick

Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Citation: 2020 Ark. 334

Opinion Date: October 15, 2020

Judge: Wynne

Areas of Law: Medical Malpractice

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Plaintiff in this medical malpractice case, holding that the circuit court erred by striking and removing Defendants' constitutional right to a jury trial. Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging medical negligence against Defendants. The complaint included a demand for a jury trial. Defendants' answer also contained a demand for a jury trial. The circuit court struck Defendants' request to a jury trial as a sanction for failing to comply with its scheduling order's mediation requirement. After Plaintiff waived her right to a jury trial the matter proceeded to trial as a bench trial. The court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiff in the amount of $821,635. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court lacked the authority to divest Defendants of their fundamental constitutional right to a jury trial.