Biden DOJ Speedily Raises SCOTUS' ACA Ruling in Another Fight With Republican AGs

James Tierney, the former attorney general of Maine and a lecturer on state attorneys general at Harvard Law School, said he views the court’s ruling as good for attorneys general because it may dissuade them from bringing lawsuits that are more political in nature, if they can’t strongly prove they have suffered due to the federal policy they want to challenge.

He said while lawyers in an attorney general’s office might know they can’t bring a lawsuit without standing, they might feel pressure from political actors in the state government to bring suit.

’We’re talking Clarence Thomas to Elena Kagan, all lined up singing ‘Kumbaya,’’ Tierney said. ‘If you’re going to come into our court, you better have a real case and controversy. You shouldn’t have something that’s manufactured. Don’t bring your politics into our court, that’s not what we’re here for.’

Marcia Coyle and Jacqueline Thomsen, “Biden DOJ Speedily Raises SCOTUS' ACA Ruling in Another Fight With Republican AGs,” National Law Journal, June 18, 2021.