2020 Supreme Court Preview Moot Court

On Friday, September 11, 2020 at 4:05pm,  the Supreme Court Preview will feature a moot court of California v. Texas. This case presents another constitutional challenge to the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (the mandate was upheld in 2012 as a permissible use of Congressional taxing power).  In 2017 Congress amended the ACA to set the penalty for not buying health insurance at zero. That change led Texas (along with several other states and individuals) to file a lawsuit arguing that because the penalty for not buying health insurance is zero, it is no longer a tax and the mandate is therefore unconstitutional.  The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the mandate.  California (and several other states) joined the lawsuit to defend the law. On this page, you will find relevant documents to the upcoming case including the lower court opinion, party briefs, and relevant news articles. 

California v. Texas (No. 19-840)
Issues: 
  1. Whether the individual and state plaintiffs in this case have established Article III standing to challenge the minimum-coverage provision in Section 5000A(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
  2. Whether reducing the amount specified in Section 5000A(c) to zero rendered the minimum-coverage provision unconstitutional.
  3. If so, whether the minimum-coverage provision is severable from the rest of the ACA.
Lower Court Opinion
Party Briefs
Supplemental Materials