Title: A Study in Detection: The Who and Why of the Health Care Joint Dissent
Abstract: For their dissent in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius four Justices – Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito – selected a seldom used form of Supreme Court authorship. Instead of one Justice signing the opinion and three others joining, all four signed their names as co-authors of a joint dissent. Their choice of this unusual form provides readers with both a surface puzzle and a subtle message. The puzzle challenges readers to identify the author or authors of the opinion, as this article attempts to do, by detecting stylistic elements characteristic of one of the signers. The message is easier to decipher. The Justices chose this opinion form to underscore their rejection of the majority position and, in Justice Brennan’s term, to amplify their message of internal solidarity.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-02-04
Language: en
Type: article
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