March 24 (Bloomberg) — Every few years a U.S. Supreme Court case comes along that seems magically to involve every important issue of the day.
Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius, which will be argued Tuesday, does the trifecta one better: It involves the Affordable Care Act, religious liberty, contraception and the question of whether a corporation is a person with fundamental rights. It would be the professor's all-time dream question for a final exam in constitutional law — except that even the best students couldn't possibly have time to address all the issues.
In deference to its complexity, the Supreme Court has decided to give the lawyers, Paul Clement and Don Verrilli, an extra 15 minutes each. Clement served as solicitor general for George W. Bush, and Verrilli has the job now. They argued the ACA case against each other. Giving these two extra time is like telling Ali and Frazier that they can fight 18 rounds. It will be fun to watch, but a challenge for the fighters to stay alive.
To make sense of the complexity of the case, you need a scorecard, so here it is, broken down by the four crucial issues in play.
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