While immediately hailing the ruling, supporters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) noted, in particular, the careful and thorough rejection of opponents’ arguments by long-time states’ rights advocate and panel member, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush.
“Before argument occurred, if a proponent of ACA could pick a single appellate judge they would not want to have ruling on this case, it would be Judge Jeffrey Sutton,” said Simon Lazarus, public policy counsel to the National Senior Citizens Law Center. “His opinion will be important not just because he will be viewed by conservative members of the Supreme Court as an ideological comrade in arms, but [because he will be viewed] by Chief Justice [John] Roberts as an intellectual peer. He raises every kind of objection made to the act in a thoughtful and sympathetic way and then proceeds to knock them down.”
