DOJ Realizes that Judge in ObamaCare Case Understands Their “Feet Dragging” Strategy

The administration’s most notable effort to drag out the litigation came earlier this month in a bogus “motion to clarify” Judge Roger Vinson’s decision, which held that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and struck down the whole law.  As Hans von Spakovsky and I explained last Thursday, that strategy backfired spectacularly with a stunning and deserved rebuke from the district court.  As Judge Vinson explained in his order last week, the court expected that DOJ would rush to stay the court’s order and then file an immediate appeal.  But, the Judge wrote, “It was not expected that they would effectively ignore the order and declaratory judgment for two and one-half weeks, continue to implement the Act, and only then file a belated motion to “‘clarify.’”  The Administration, he concluded, was just playing games.

To get things moving, Judge Vinson gave the government an ultimatum: appeal within a week and seek expedited briefing in the appellate courts (either the Eleventh Circuit or the Supreme Court), or the implementation of Obamacare will come to an immediate halt.  Wisely, DOJ took the judge at his word—this time—and filed its notice of appeal.

But will DOJ take the next required step and ask the appeals court for an expedited schedule going forward? Until tonight, it seemed like the government would wait out every deadline to the last possible moment.  Now, however, DOJ may have come to the realization that the courts have seen through its strategy, and further delay will prejudice the next level of judges further.

So here’s to hoping that DOJ has changed its ways.  And even if not, we can thank Judge Vinson for putting the appeals court on notice so that it won’t put up with any attempt to do an end run around the judicial process and, ultimately, the Constitution.

for full article: http://blog.heritage.org/2011/03/08/did-obama-finally-accept-that-he-lost-the-obamacare-lawsuit/

Florida Judge Orders Obama Team to Make Decision on ObamaCare Appeal, and Expedite It

     With 26 states signed on to the lawsuit, Federal Judge Vinson in Florida has ordered the government to file an expedited appeal, wthin 7 days, either to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, or directly to the US Supreme Court.

     This order was given after a clarification of his prior ruling was requested.

Politico: Judge Vinson’s “Shout Out” to the Tea Party Movement

A tea party shoutout

From the Vinson ruling:

It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate givingthe East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place.

If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failingto engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be “difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power” [Lopez, supra, 514 U.S. at 564], and we would have a Constitution in name only. Surely this is not what the Founding Fathers could have intended.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0111/A_tea_party_shoutout.html