3

The following questions and their extensive answers cover the background of the issues well:

Quick summary only: In this case the term Judicial Review covers the ability or lack thereof for people to challenge the law by suing. Rather than write a law making abortion illegal, the Texas law enables private citizens to sue other individuals where abortion is involved, which attempts to deprive someone seeking or attempting to provide an abortion the opportunity to challenge the law via lawsuit against the lawmaking body.

Question: Did the US Supreme Court's recent ruling sidestep the issue of judicial review? In opinion(s) on Whole Women's Health v. Jackson, the current challenge to Texas S.B. 8, was this issue of the law being unconstitutional due to it doing an "end run" around judicial review addressed directly in any way, or was it essentially avoided (for now at least)?

It seems that the ruling is here and I do see serious discussion of this in one or more dissenting opinions but it is difficult for me to see if the majority ruling addresses this issue directly or sidesteps it.

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Aren't the details of a supreme court opinion more suited for Law?
    – Jontia
    Dec 11, 2021 at 6:45
  • @Jontia You've mischaracterized the question. This asks quite a top-level question, not about details, and this particular case is so political that at least one of the Supreme Court justices has lamented the potential politicalization of the Court itself both publicly and see footnote 6 of Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in the linked ruling. Further, this case has been discussed not only in the three other Politics SE questions I've linked to, but in several others as well.
    – uhoh
    Dec 11, 2021 at 10:33
  • 1
    I guess I would think of the 'yes/no' position and practical effects as the top level questions, whereas I'd see the details of the effect on the principle of judicial review seems quite low level. Not that I disagree that this decision itself is more about politics than law, but the points of law covered in the opinions seem a little out of our usual reach. Though I'm happy to concede the overlap between the stacks you've highlighted. Which is why these are comments rather than migration votes.
    – Jontia
    Dec 11, 2021 at 12:49
  • 1
    "the opportunity to challenge the law via lawsuit against the lawmaking body": suits in which laws are declared unconstitutional are never brought against the lawmaki body.
    – phoog
    Dec 13, 2021 at 16:04

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

Did the US Supreme Court's recent ruling sidestep the issue of judicial review?

No.

was this issue of the law being unconstitutional due to it doing an "end run" around judicial review addressed directly in any way?

Yes. From the syllabus (page 4 of the PDF linked in the question):

The Court holds that the petitioners may bring a pre-enforcement challenge in federal court as one means to test S. B. 8’s compliance with the Federal Constitution.

Improve this answer
0

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .