Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 12.16.18

* In case you missed it (the news broke on Friday night), Judge Reed O’Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare is unconstitutional, in the wake of last year's tax reform that reduced the ACA's "shared responsibility payment" for lacking health-care coverage to zero. [MedCity News] * Josh Blackman agrees with Judge O'Connor the constitutionality of the individual mandate, but disagreed with his severability analysis. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * Meanwhile, fellow Volokh Conspirator Samuel Bray is glad that the court didn't issue a national injunction. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * Adam Feldman takes a closer look at the Federal Circuit's relationship to the Supreme Court -- including which members of the Federal Circuit are most frequently vindicated by SCOTUS. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Carrie Severino shares the disappointment of her former boss, Justice Thomas, in Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh voting against certiorari in Gee v. Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Eric Turkewitz calls out members of the media for misreporting on a routine trip-and-fall case because they don't like the plaintiff's famous father. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Oakland is going on the offensive against the NFL, firing off a 49-page complaint signed by James Quinn of Berg & Androphy, among others. [The MMQB / Sports Illustrated] * Speaking of Berg & Androphy, name partner David Berg offers expert insights on what it takes to win as a trial lawyer. [YouTube]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.28.17

* The Senate rejects the latest GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act -- with Senator John McCain casting the decisive "no" vote. [Washington Post] * Riley Safer Holmes and Cancila continues its rapid expansion, adding 13 new lawyers -- including eight from Bryan Cave, led by former managing partner Joseph McCoy. [Law360] * More bad news for the LGBT community from the Trump administration: the Justice Department takes the position that Title VII doesn't cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. [How Appealing] * Meanwhile, civil rights and LGBT groups get ready to file suit if President Trump's plan to ban transgender people from the military becomes a reality (which is not yet the case). [National Law Journal] * And these groups might just prevail -- Michael Richter and Anna Pohl, chairs of the New York City Bar Association’s Military Affairs and LGBT Rights Committees, lay out the case for why the transgender ban is unconstitutional. [The Hill] * Stephanie Francis Ward takes a long, hard look at the woes of Charlotte School of Law -- and the rest of the beleaguered Infilaw consortium of law schools. [ABA Journal] * Closing statements in the Martin Shkreli case paint very different pictures of the infamous "Pharma Bro." [Law.com] * Nuisance claims, or nuisance suits? Judge James Donato (N.D. Cal.) seems skeptical of a purported class-action case targeting Pokémon GO (which recently added Legendaries to the game). [The Recorder]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.07.17

* Another day, another notable immigration ruling from the Ninth Circuit (by the great liberal lion, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, joined by his brilliant ideological protégé, Judge Marsha Berzon). [How Appealing] * The sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, which previously ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, will be retried in November. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Why do associates leave Biglaw, and what can be done to reduce attrition? Insights from NALP and from Major Lindsey & Africa's Tina Cohen and Jennifer Henderson. [ABA Journal] * Law firm merger mania continues -- and much of the action is taking place abroad. [Law.com] * Senator Kamala Harris, prominent prosecutor turned politician, might get interrupted on occasion -- but she will not be stopped. [New York Times] * Linda Greenhouse wonders about Justice Neil Gorsuch: "How could the folksy 'Mr. Smith Goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee' morph so quickly into Donald Trump’s life-tenured judicial avatar?" [New York Times via How Appealing] * Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledges that the Republicans might not be able to repeal Obamacare right now -- and that an interim solution might be needed. [The Hill] * For interested readers, here's the "origin story" of Above the Law, which turns 11 next month. [Yale Alumni Association of New York]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.22.17

* Senate Republicans take another step forward on repealing the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. [MedCity News] * Shocker: President Donald Trump has no "tapes" of his conversations with James Comey. [Talking Points Memo] * Our own Elie Mystal breaks down this morning's Supreme Court decisions, in conversation with Brian Lehrer of WNYC. [WNYC] * And if you want to read the SCOTUS rulings for yourself, Howard Bashman has links to all of them. [How Appealing] * Professor Ilya Somin explains how zoning and other land use controls exacerbate the affordable housing crisis. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Professor Richard Re argues that Bivens isn't dead -- at least not yet. [PrawfsBlawg] * A great profile of a great rainmaker: Bill Carmody of Susman Godfrey. [Lawdragon] * A Thomson Reuters tool that takes torture out of timekeeping. [LawSites]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.27.17

* Ed Meese in defense of Trump SCOTUS shortlister William Pryor. [The Daily Signal] * What the Chief Justice's writings tell us about the constitutionality of the global gag rule. [Slate] * What does the cert success rate look like this Term? [Empirical SCOTUS] * The potential legal actions over Trump's copycat cake. [Dorf on Law] * Could you do semi-retirement? [Law and More] * Are the GOP getting spooked over Obamacare repeal? [Washington Post]

By Kathryn Rubino