Is The Obama Admin Trying To Box In Scalia On The Health Care Mandate? 
In its amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court Friday, the Justice Department cited no fewer than 10 times the 2005 Gonzalez v. Raich case, in which Scalia (and Justice Anthony Kennedy) broke with the court’s conservative wing to hand down what scholars viewed as one of the broadest declarations of federal power under the Commerce Clause: a 6-3 ruling decreeing that Congress may ban a medical-marijuana patient from growing cannabis for personal use in California where it’s legal.
Although laws about marijuana and health insurance appear to be separate issues, from a judicial standpoint they drill down to the same core question: the extent of the federal government’s constitutional authority to regulate.
This is a nice effort but who really sees Scalia budging?
The Raich opinion was explicitly targetted toward Scalia, Thompson, and the Federalists. Scalia, of course, decided to carve out an exception to his principles for pot that didn’t apply to things targeting Scalia, Thompson, and the Federalists. Scalia, of course, decided to carve out an exception to his principles for pot that didn’t apply to things like violence against women. Citing a Scalia opinion might not persuade Scalia, who is very weaselly, but it might persuade Alitio, Roberts, or (most critically) Kennedy.
(Source: joshsternberg)
