U.S. Court of Appeals for theFifth Circuit. (Photo: Mike Scarcella / ALM)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday hitpause on an appeal looking to keep theAffordable Care Act the law of the land, despite opposition from acoalition of Democratic state attorneys general who want to pushforward amid the government shutdown.
|The order, signed by Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick, comes asthe nation edges toward its longest shutdown in history. Federalcourts are expected to run out of contingency funds on Jan. 18, andsome district judges have already paused civil cases that involve federalagencies.
|The Administrative Office of the United States Courts wasexpected to issue shutdown guidance Thursday. That memo never came,and district courts are still awaiting guidance.
|Related: Judge stays his own order declaring ACAunconstitutional
|The Justice Department has pushed to pause many civil casesacross the country in trial and appellate courts, arguing thefederal Antideficiency Act generally precludes federal officialsfrom working during a lapse in appropriations. There is anexception under for cases involving human life and the protectionof property.
|The coalition of states attorneys general, led by California'sXavier Becerra, are appealing a district court ruling that declaredthe entire 2010 law unconstitutional after congress zeroed out itsindividual mandate, or tax penalty, in 2017. U.S. District JudgeReed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas ruled on Dec. 14that the individual mandate could not be severed from the wholelaw.
|They face a coalition of state attorneys general looking to undothe Obama-era law, led by Texas' Ken Paxton.
|O'Connor stayed his ruling on Dec. 30, finding that Americanswould face great uncertainty during the appeal. O'Connor also notedmost Americans have already purchased their health insurance plansfor the following year.
|The attorneys general, who are defending the law after theJustice Department under President Donald Trump opted not to, havecriticized O'Connor's decision as based on a “flimsy theory” and“ludicrous.”
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Nate Robson
Nate Robson is the U.S. Supreme Court and regulatory editor. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @Nate_Robson1.
