Virginia to Seek Fast Track Review by Supreme Court

[jbage007]

Odds of success for this "highly unusual" request - unknown

We may forget but Virginia actually brings to 27 the number of states definitely opposed to Obamacare. Virginia filed its own appeal immediately after passage of the law. The Florida case subsequently has been joined by 25 other states.

 

[djs]

Odds of this happening are probably slightly less than 0. Interesting thought process though.

 

[Winter_123]

Odds of this happening are probably slightly less than 0. Interesting thought process though.

Ahh. I don't know. There are different ways to fast track. One is that the court can take it direct and bypass the appellate court provided that an appeal is at least filed at the appellate level.

But the court can also fast track it quite a bit by letting the appeals court do its thing but then taking it up at the Supreme Court faster than it would normally arrive after the appellate court decision. That alone can sometimes take almost a year out of the process. Example, the Supreme Court's docket is pretty much set for this session barring some emergency, so even if an appeals court decided next week (not gonna happen) the Supreme Court would normally not hear it until January of next year or thereafter (assuming they decided to hear it, which they would). But the Court could take quite a bit of time out of the process just by moving it along faster after the appeals hearing.

So my point is that bypassing the appellate court is a stretch (although a possibility and it is not out of the question) but the Court would most likely yield to requests to move this thing along in other ways even though that will also seem long.

Actually it is bit more complicated than the above. Since you have two or three district cases, there are other scenarios. The court might take them all up after just one appellate court has heard them or before any have, or wait until all have. Lots of possibilities. Basically though the focus is on the Florida case because states are the other half of the constitutional arrangement and you can't just let 26-27 states simmer and drag it out. The case is coming and the Court knows it and they have to deal with it. Undoubtedly they will let at least one appellate court deal with it, but they are not immune from congressional or public pressure after that, or right now for that matter.

Methinks.

 

[jbage007]

Ahh. I don't know. There are different ways to fast track. One is that the court can take it direct and bypass the appellate court provided that an appeal is at least filed at the appellate level.

Nope.


There is only one fast-track option and it has very limited chance of success due to the Court's extremely limited jurisdiction over appeals from a district court.

 

[Winter_123]

Nope.


There is only one fast-track option and it has very limited chance of success due to the Court's extremely limited jurisdiction over appeals from a district court.

Incorrect, there are the other dimensions that I outlined. Skipping appellate is just one obscure possibility which is not going to happen here because the government wont request and it is slim chance anyway. Otherwise the court has many opportunities to move a case along faster by taking it up for review immediately after the appellate court has heard it rather than booting it out to the next session with all the other cases in the queue.

How long did it take for voting hanging chad Bush election to reach the Supreme Court on an expedited basis, for example? Let's just say "not long." Yes, I understand the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction up from a state supreme court, nevertheless the savings in time was for the Supreme Court to review it immediately rather than boot it out to the next session. The emergency nature there was more apparent and I am not saying that the health reform bill rises to that same level. I am saying the court can respond to more immediate needs and move a case along faster than it would otherwise move, even without bypassing the appellate level.

Some of these options are becoming moot now that it is clear that obama wants to drag it out and not particiapte in requests to expedite. That however does not mean that option is not there. It is.

Thus a case can be fastracked in more than one way. And there are others.