The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
The ACA and the Declaratory Judgment Act
Is there statutory jurisdiction in California v. Texas?
On the Court's docket is another case about the Affordable Care Act, California v. Texas (consolidated with Texas v. California). Michael McConnell, Kevin Walsh, and I have just filed an amicus brief in the case. If you think brevity is the soul of wit, this is the brief for you. Here is the summary of argument (yes, all of it):
Under the Skelly Oil rule, the federal courts have no statutory jurisdiction over a federal declaratory judgment action unless one of the parties to the action could have brought a nondeclaratory action about the same issue against the other party. The declaratory judgment in this case violates the Skelly Oil rule, and it should be reversed.
You can read the rest of the brief here. And the other briefs and opinion below are available here (thanks, SCOTUSblog!).