CAC President Doug Kendall: “Judge Jeffrey Sutton has done his job, and in doing so has transformed the debate over the Affordable Care Act and powerfully advanced the cause of judicial independence.”

Washington, DC – On news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, Constitutional Accountability Center released the following statement:

CAC President Doug Kendall said, “Today’s ruling is the first appellate court judgment on the Affordable Care Act and the Sixth Circuit got it right.”

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra said, “In a thoughtful, measured opinion today rejecting a constitutional challenge to health care reform, Judge Jeffrey Sutton — appointed by President George W. Bush — has transformed the debate over the constitutionality of health care reform from a partisan fight into a legal dispute, one in which, as Sutton recognized, ‘the government has the better of the arguments.’”

CAC President Kendall concluded, “Judge Sutton has done his job, and in doing so has powerfully advanced the cause of judicial independence.”

#

Resources:

CAC President Doug Kendall: “Health Care Reform: Preserving Judicial Independence in a Partisan Age,” June 3, 2011: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-kendall/health-care-reform-preser_b_870988.html

Sixth Circuit opinion in Thomas More Law Center v. Obama, upholding the constitutionality of health care reform: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/11a0168p-06.pdf

##

Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

###