SCOTUS open thread

All eyez on John Roberts, is the guess, which is a pretty horrible thought. Have at it!

UPDATE

https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/218345399671468032

CNN said mandate struck down, but is apparently wrong. [Pasted in wrong tweet!]

Reuters live blog.

https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/218346187294654464

(But see below on Medicaid expansion)

5/4.

Not to late to make predictions!

UPDATE Yes it is. So, great. What they did was find a way to maximally fuck poor people. Force them to buy junk insurance, but don't allow them to enter Medicaid. Yay!

UPDATE Hat tip, Hipparchia (and ScotusBlog) for calling the shot.

UPDATE

https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/218347499692371968

So they really are all the same, aren't they?

UPDATE Here's one rock solid prediction: That blip of "progressive" support for single payer will disappear, except for Trojan horses like the SIEU.

UPDATE From ScotusBlog, which has one of those sucky Flash-based live blog tools, so I can't link to the individual bits:

"Amy Howe: The money quote from the section on the mandate: Our precedent demonstrates that Congress had the power to impose the exaction in Section 5000A under the taxing power, and that Section 5000A need not be read to do more than impose a tax. This is sufficient to sustain it."

And on Medicaid: On the Medicaid issue, a majority of the Court holds that the Medicaid expansion is constitutional but that it w/b unconstitutional for the federal government to withhold Medicaid funds for non-compliance with the expansion provisions."

At this point, it looks like the expansion is valid, but it can’t be enforced, i.e., states can’t be denied Medicaid funding if they refuse to participate. ScotusBlog again:

Among other comments, Ginsburg bench statement says that “seven members of theCourt…buy the argument that prospective withholding of anticipated funds exceeds Congress’ spending power.” The remedy, Ginsburg says, is “to bar the withholding found impermissible, not to scrap the expansion altogether.” Tehre are five votes for that.

UPDATE The opinion.