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Chief Justice John “Marshall” Roberts – How The Chief Justice’S Majority Opinion Upholding The Federal Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act Of 2010 Evokes Chief Justice Marshall’S Decision In Marbury V. Madison, Mohamed Akram Faizer

Akram Faizer

The United States Supreme Court sustained the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 based on Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.’s majority opinion in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (2012). The Chief Justice’s decision to uphold the Act obviated a potentially harmful confrontation with the Obama Administration in advance of the November 2012 general election. However, the decision accomplished more than merely avoid a confrontation with the executive branch. Rather, the Chief Justice’s rationale for sustaining the Act under the Taxing and Spending Power and not the Commerce Clause is a …