2. What type of schedule are we looking at to take this to the Supreme Court? the Virginia ruling of Judge Hudson (which found the individual mandate unconstitutional is being heard by the 4th Circuit on May 10. The Michigan rulings where we lost has been granted an expedited hearing, but a date has not been scheduled. The DOJ has not yet filed to the 11th Circuit for the Florida ruling.
3. Has Judge Vinson ever been overturned by the 11th Circuit? No, which goes towards the amount of respect his decisions hold.
4. Do we have to wait for all of these appeals to be decided separately before we can go to the Supreme Court? No, the cases do not have to be combined, and the decisions in the 4th and 6th circuits should be good enough to take it to the Supreme Court later this year. That would mean a decision would be published before June 30, 2012.
5. Do we have to worry about Justice Kennedy? No, these cases are turning on commerce clause analysis, and Justice Kennedy has ruled favorably in the past to restrict Congressional overreach in Commerce Clause analysis.
6. I am hearing commentators mention an expedited appeal directly to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Appeals. Do you expect that to happen here? No, that is a Rule 11 Motion, and that is rarely granted by the Supreme Court, and there is no emergency for an expedited hearing.
We can also talk about whether Justice Kagan will recuse herself.
