Fool Me Twice: Zubik v. Burwell and the Perils of Judicial Faith in Government Claims

Authors

Mark L. Rienzi, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

This article proceeds in three parts. Part I examines the three government concessions that made the Supreme Court’s Zubik decision possible and how those concessions ultimately revealed that it is possible to protect both contraceptive access and religious liberty. Part II discusses how the circuit courts were brought to emphatically adopt positions the government would ultimately abandon under the slightest pressure. Part III concludes with some key lessons lower courts should take from Zubik to better protect the integrity of both the court system and religious-liberty laws.

Recommended Citation

Mark L. Rienzi, Fool Me Twice: Zubik v. Burwell and the Perils of Judicial Faith in Government Claims, 2016 CATO SUP. CT. REV. 123.