(CBS News) Chief Justice John Roberts initially sided with the Supreme
Court's four conservative justices to strike down the heart of President Obama's
health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, but later changed his position
and formed an alliance with liberals to uphold the bulk of the law, according to
two sources with specific knowledge of the deliberations.
Roberts then withstood a month-long, desperate campaign to bring him back to
his original position, the sources said. Ironically, Justice Anthony Kennedy -
believed by many conservatives to be the justice most likely to defect and vote
for the law - led the effort to try to bring Roberts back to the fold.
"He was relentless," one source said of Kennedy's efforts. "He was very
engaged in this."
But this time, Roberts held firm. And so the conservatives handed him their
own message which, as one justice put it, essentially translated into, "You're
on your own."
The conservatives refused to join any aspect of his opinion, including
sections with which they agreed, such as his analysis imposing limits on
Congress' power under the Commerce Clause, the sources said.
Instead, the four joined forces and crafted a highly unusual, unsigned
joint dissent. They deliberately ignored Roberts' decision, the sources said, as
if they were no longer even willing to engage with him in debate.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57464549/roberts-switched-views-to-uphold-health-care-law/
Sunday, July 1, 2012
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