Supreme Court Takes No Action On Virginia Request For Expedited Healthcare Law Review.

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The AP (4/19) reports that the Supreme Court “has taken no action on Virginia’s call for speedy review of the health care law.” The AP says that the justices were scheduled to discuss the case, among others, at their Friday conference, but “there was no announcement about the case when the court convened on Monday.” This silence could “mean, among other things, that one justice asked for more time to think about the case or to write a short opinion that would accompany the order.”
The Washington Post (4/19, Barnes) notes that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II “had asked the court to fast-track consideration of the constitutionality of the law and skip the normal process of waiting until appeals courts had considered the issue.”
Bloomberg News (4/18, Stohr) reported that Cuccinelli was “quick to agree that his request for fast-track review by the US Supreme Court is a long shot.” Nevertheless, “there’s so much money at stake for the states and for the private sector and there’s so much uncertainty produced in the economy because of this legislation that it was worth the ask,” he said. The case is “Virginia ex rel. Cuccinelli v. Sebelius, 10-1014.”
The Washington Times (4/19, Cunningham) reports that Cuccinelli said that the delay “could mean that one justice was writing a short opinion that would accompany an order. It could also mean, among other things, that a justice asked for more time to consider the case.”
The Hill (4/19, Pecquet) notes in its “Healthwatch” blog that the Obama Administration has “argued that appeals courts should have their say — arguments have been scheduled in no fewer than four appeals courts over the next five months — while critics say the differing opinions to date are creating legal uncertainty and should be resolved as quickly as possible by the Supreme Court.” Also covering the story are the Wall Street Journal (4/19, Jones) “Law Blog,” MSNBC (4/19, Williams), and the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot (4/19, Walker).