Supreme Court Closes Courthouse Door To Important Medicaid Lawsuits
Washington, DC – On news today that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a divided ruling in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc., Constitutional Accountability Center released the following reaction:
CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans said, “Make no mistake, the practical effects of this ruling are enormous for ordinary Americans. The Court today turned its back on the principle of access to our federal courts, leaving low income people seeking access to health care to the vagaries and limitations of the executive branch.”
CAC Appellate Counsel Brianne Gorod continued, “Unfortunately, this case is just the latest in a long line of Roberts Court cases that bend over backwards to allow corporations to enforce federal rights, while closing the courthouse doors to ordinary Americans and minorities seeking to enforce theirs. That said, one silver lining of today’s decision is that all members of the Court recognized that there is a long history of the right to go to federal court to redress unlawful state action. Hopefully at least some members of the Court will remember that history and strike the balance in favor of court access in future rulings.”
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Additional Resources:
CAC’s “friend of the court” brief in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc.: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Armstrong_v_Exceptional_Child_Center_14-15_CAC_Amicus.pdf
“Can Plaintiffs Be Denied Their Day in Court Because a Remedy is Costly?: The Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc.,” David H. Gans, January 22, 2015: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/3068/can-plaintiffs-be-denied-their-day-court-because-remedy-costly-supreme-court-hears
Roberts at 10: Roberts’s Consistent Votes to Close the Courthouse Doors, Brianne Gorod: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Roberts-at-10-Access-to-the-Courts.pdf
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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.
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