Professor Jared Goldstein discusses the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act decision and the reasoning behind Chief Justice John Roberts' deciding vote.
From the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: "Health-care plan has R.I. roots" by Edward Fitzpatrick
[...] 
Republicans wasted no time in suing when Mr. Obama signed the health-care bill into law in March 2010. At the time, Roger Williams University law Prof. Jared A. Goldstein said Congress “can tax for any legitimate reason, and certainly providing health care for all Americans is a legitimate reason.” [...]
Goldstein, a former U.S. Justice Department appellate lawyer who teaches constitutional law, said, “Roberts in a way gets to have his cake and eat it, too. He gets to slap around Congress and the Obama administration for doing something beyond their power,” but “by then shifting and calling it a tax, he gets to still uphold the law and get the court out of this big political mess.”
The ruling shows Roberts cares a lot about maintaining the integrity of the court and getting the court out of national politics, to the extent possible, Goldstein said. “He found a way to thread the needle,” he said. [...]
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