Robert Bacharach

Robert Bacharach

United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit

Tenure

2013 - Present

Years in position

11

Education

Personal

SCOTUS affirms Tenth Circuit judgment on Affordable Care Act exemption (2014)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.)

On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of an en banc panel of the Tenth Circuit. Judge Robert Bacharach issued a concurring opinion in the case.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, mandated that insurance plans must cover preventive healthcare—which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later interpreted to include contraception—at no cost. Employers that didn't provide this benefit in their health insurance plan would face fines. Religious organizations argued that being required to cover birth control violated religious freedoms. Religious employers and nonprofits were exempted from the requirement, but religious for-profit corporations were not. Hobby Lobby, a company that described itself as "operating ... in a manner consistent with Biblical principles," sued the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, on September 12, 2012. The company, which is owned by the Green family, sought exemptions from coverage of four different contraceptives—two emergency morning-after pills and two intrauterine devices (IUDs)—on the basis that those contraceptives violated their religious beliefs. The company did not argue against providing other forms of contraception.^{[12][13][14][15]}

A federal district court denied the company's request for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the mandate, a judgment that was affirmed upon review by a two-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court also denied the request, at which point Hobby Lobby requested—and was granted—an en banc rehearing by the full Tenth Circuit Court. The Tenth Circuit reversed the opinion of the two-judge panel and ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, holding that closely held religious corporations were protected by both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.^[12]

In a concurring opinion, Judge Robert Bacharach wrote separately to argue two points. First, Judge Bacharach argued that the district court was the proper venue for conducting the required balancing of interests analysis necessary to issue a preliminary injunction, not the circuit court. Second, he argued that the circuit court should have remanded the case to the district court in order to dismiss the claims of the Green family. He wrote,^[16]

Writing for a five-justice majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito affirmed the en banc circuit court's decision.^[17][12]

1. ↑ The Third Branch, "Judicial Milestones," June 1999
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed August 16, 2016
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} BNET: The Journal Record (Oklahoma City), "Okla. Leadership in Law profile: Hon. Robert Bacharach...," May 1, 2007
4. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questions for Judicial Nominees," accessed November 15, 2013
5. ↑ The White House, "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2012
6. ↑ The White House, "President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the US Court of Appeals," January 23, 2012
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
8. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 112th Congress," accessed August 16, 2016
9. ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "112th Congress Nomination Materials," accessed August 16, 2016
10. ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "113th Congress Nomination Materials," accessed August 16, 2016
11. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1 - Robert E. Bacharach - The Judiciary," accessed August 16, 2016
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} Oyez, "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores," accessed May 21, 2016
13. ↑ Christian-Science Monitor, "Hobby Lobby 101: explaining the Supreme Court's birth control ruling," July 10, 2014
14. ↑ The Hobby Lobby Case, "Case Timeline," accessed May 21, 2016
15. ↑ Hobby Lobby, "About Us," accessed October 6, 2017
16. ↑ U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Hobby Lobby Stores et al. v. Katheleen Sebelius et al., June 27, 2013
17. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., June 30, 2014