Annual Hallows Lecture by Paul Clement

Description

Last year's constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act presented phenomena that the Supreme Court had not seen for more than a generation—or ever. These included not only the substantive fact of a challenge to a federal law by more than half the states but also extraordinary processes in the Court. For example, even without request, the Court scheduled six hours of oral argument, spanning three days, and appointed two amici to brief and argue particular issues alongside counsel for the parties. How did these and other extraordinary processes affect the presentation of the case? What unusual choices did the lawyers arguing the case have to make in their preparation and presentation? To what extent did all this affect the public's perception of the merits of the case? Paul Clement, who argued the case on behalf of the states, will reflect on these matters.