GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, the controversial healthcare overhaul was both praised and panned by various groups. In June of 2012 however, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in the case, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.

The University of Florida will take a closer look at the healthcare reform issue in celebration of this year’s Constitution Day with a discussion, “The Affordable Care Act: The U.S. Constitution Meets Health Care Reform.” The event will take place Monday, Sept. 17, from 10-11 a.m. at the UF Levin College of Law’s Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom. The event is free and open to the public.

The discussion will feature UF Law Professor Steven Willis and Shands HealthCare Associate General Counsel and UF Law Adjunct Professor Andrei Boyarshinov representing two different viewpoints regarding the Affordable Care Act.

Willis is a longtime member of UF Law’s top-ranked Graduate Tax faculty. He wrote an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Affordable Care Act, and has published three law review articles on the case: “Of Constitutional Decapitation and Healthcare” and “Oy Yes, the Healthcare Penalty is Unconstitutional” in Tax Notes, and “No Health Care Penalty? No Problem: No Due Process” in the American Journal of Law & Medicine.

Boyarshinov is a senior attorney for managed care and network development, commercial transactions and risk management for the $1 billion-plus health system closely affiliated with UF&Shands and the University of Florida Academic Health Center, including two major academic centers, Shands at the University of Florida and Shands Jacksonville, both advanced acute care teaching facilities, three hospital joint ventures, one behavioral health hospital and one comprehensive medical rehabilitation hospital. He also teaches Health Care Finance and Delivery at UF Law.

UF’s Constitution Day Program continues with two open-mic readings of the U.S. Constitution, one 11 a.m. – noon in the foyer of the Advocacy Center, where attendees will receive complimentary cake, lemonade and a U.S. Constitution app for iPhone or Android phones; and the second by Smathers Libraries, noon-1 p.m. on the Plaza of the Americas outside Library West with complimentary cake, lemonade and printed pocket copies of the Constitution.

Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, and each year the University of Florida – along with other public funded universities – celebrate the day with special programs and activities. This year’s events are sponsored by the University of Florida, with support from the UF Levin College of Law, Smathers Libraries and the Graham Center.

10 a.m. – noon

The University of Florida celebrates this year’s Constitution Day with “The Affordable Care Act: The U.S. Constitution Meets Health Care Reform,” featuring talks and a discussion from UF Law Professor Steven Willis and Associate General Counsel at Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc., Andrei Boyarshinov. For complete details, read the press release here: http://www.law.ufl.edu/news/2012/09/04/constitution-day-celebration-examines-health-care-reform/.

This year’s Constitution Day events consist of several events, coinciding with retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s visit to the University of Florida.

Constitution Day begins with the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s inaugural Allen L. Poucher Legal Education Series on Monday at 10:30 a.m. The event, hosted by the Florida Law Review, will be held at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The event is free and open to the public.

The topic of the event is judicial reform and will feature several distinguished legal minds. Former ABA president and UF Law alumna Martha Barnett (JD 73) will serve as moderator. In addition to Justice O’Connor, the panel will also feature Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince and U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and UF Alumna Rosemary Barkett (JD 70).

Following the event at the Phillips Center, Smathers Libraries will be holding a reading of the Constitution outside of Library West on the Plaza of the Americas. Free copies of the Constitution will be given away along with cake and lemonade. More information can be found here: http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/constitutionday.

Finally, Graham Center and ACCENT will also be co-hosting a lecture by O’Connor on the topic of civics education at 6 p.m. in the University Auditorium. Information can be found here: http://bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu/event/us-supreme-court-justice-sandra-day-o%E2%80%99connor.

For additional information:
Debbie Amirin, UF Law Communications
352-273-0650 or amirin@law.ufl.edu

Rick Goldstein, UF Law Communications
352-273-0650 or goldstein@law.ufl.edu

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As part of the nation’s Constitution Day celebrations, the University of Florida will host a program at the Levin College of Law Friday, Sept. 15, to examine the need for judicial independence.

The program, to be held in the law school’s Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, is open to the public and will begin at noon with a 32-minute video featuring a recent discussion with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor (retired), Anthony M. Kennedy, and Stephen G. Breyer, who share their thoughts on the need for an independent judiciary. A DVD of the justices’ discussion will be available to members of the media following the event from the law school’s communications office.

A panel discussion on the “The Doctrine of Judicial Review and Its Influence upon Constitutional Law in the United States” will follow. Panelists will include The Honorable Stephan Mickle, District Judge, United States District Court Northern District of Florida; The Honorable Frederick D. Smith, Chief Judge, Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida; and Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law and Director, Centre for International Financial Crime Studies. Sharon E. Rush, Irving Cypen Professor of Law and Associate Director, Center on Children & the Law, will moderate the discussion, which will be followed by a question-and answer session.

The event has been approved for 2 hours of CLE credit by The Florida Bar.

Constitution Day commemorates the day, September 17, 1787, when delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created.

For more information, contact the Levin College of Law Communications Office at 273-0650.