Legal Commentary

Radio Debate on the Constitutionality of the Health Care Bill

By Ilya Somin

Readers in the southern California area may be interested to know that, tomorrow, I will be debating the constitutionality of the health care bill on KPCC?s Air Talk program at 2 PM eastern time, 11 AM Pacific time. At this point, I am told that my opponent will be Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the UC Irvine Law School. It?s possible that the station will choose a different opponent for me if he can?t make it.

For Dean Chemerinsky?s take on the issues, see here. For my own views, see here, here and here. Chemerinsky and I previously debated the role of ?empathy? in judicial decisionmaking in this LA Times forum.

We had a relatively rare moment of agreement back in 2007 when I criticized UC Irvine?s decision to rescind his appointment as dean on the supposed grounds that having him in that position might offend conservatives (Irvine later reversed its decision and reinstated him). I doubt that there will be similar accord in this instance, and I expect that Chemerinsky will, as usual, do an excellent job of presenting his side of this important debate.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on March 23, 2010 (boomark / email).