Richard Cordray, Attorney General, State of Ohio

Thomas Fisher, Solicitor General, State of Indiana

September 17, 2010

The topic of this program is the constitutionality of The Patient Protection and Affordability Act and features Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher. The program will include formal remarks from the speakers, questions from a student panel, and Q&A with the audience.

On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordability Act, which represents the first comprehensive federal health care reform in the history of the United States. The legislation focuses on expansion of coverage and aims to improve the quality of the nation’s health care system.

But it is not without controversy. More than twenty states are challenging the constitutionality of the bill; Indiana is one of them. The state of Ohio supports the legislation.

Program planned by the Case Western Reserve Constitution Day 2010 Undergraduate Student Committee.

Sponsored by the Case Western Reserve University Office of the President, Case Western Reserve University Office of Government and Community Relations, Case Western Reserve University Center for Policy Studies, and the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

More About Our Guests

Richard Cordray was elected Ohio Attorney General in November 2008. He previously served as Ohio Treasurer of State, Franklin County Treasurer, State Representative, and as Ohio’s first Solicitor General. He has argued seven cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and taught constitutional law for 13 years at The Ohio State University’s law school. In 2003 he earned the Presidential Service Award from the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation for his work supporting legal services for the poor. Mr. Cordray earned a master’s degree from Oxford University in England and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School.

Thomas Fisher has served as an Indiana Deputy Attorney general since February 2001, and was named Indiana’s first Solicitor General in July 2005. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, he worked in private practice in Indianapolis and Washington, DC, and clerked for Judge Michael S. Kanne of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has argued three times before the U.S. Supreme Court and is a two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award for excellence in U.S. Supreme Court briefing writing. He has taught at Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Mr. Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and a law degree from Indiana University School of Law.