No, not marriage yet, that’ll be tomorrow or Mondsy. But good outcomes in the ACA case and a housing discrimination case out of Texas.
First, the ACA. For legal nerds, this case was worrisome. A group of right wing cranks brought a suit claiming that because the subsidies for lower income individuals was available only on “exchanges established by the State,” subsidies were not available for policies purchased on th federal exchange, which became necessary when a number of red states refused to establish their own exchanges. A decision in favor of the plaintiffs wouLd have had the effect of destroying the exchanges and perhaps the entire ACA system. The case is King v. Burwell.
Long story short, the Supreme Court just a few minutes ago held, 6-3, that subsidies are available on the federal exchange. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy joined with the Court’s rational wing to uphold the contested law.
In a separate appeal from Texas, the Court also upheld use of a disparate impact analysis to prove housing discrimination. This result is even more of a surprise and even more welcome. Kennedy wrote the opinion for a 5-4 majority. The devil is in the details in cases like this, but at first blush, it’s an excellent result.
I just got the PDF of the two opinions and will post on them later, after I’ve had a chance to read them and see some of the law nerd reaction online. But for now, it’s a very good morning for Supreme Court watchers on the left.