Tag Archives: Chief Justice Roberts

In his dissent in Seven-Sky v. Holder, Judge Kavanaugh opined that the Affordable Care Act’s “shared responsibility payment” is a tax, and that it is therefore subject to the Anti-Injunction Act, which deprives the court of pre-enforcement jurisdiction over “any tax.” A majority of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan) agreed with Judge Kavanaugh on the first point (that the mandate may be considered a tax) but disagreed with him on the second (that it is subject to the AIA).  The competing rationales behind these decisions reflect two different conceptions of judicial restraint. Continue reading →