This article is from the archive of our partner .
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Arizona's controversial immigration law today, from the same two lawyers who led the fight over the Affordable Care Act last month. In the last argument of the term, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli will take the government's side while the state has hired — who else? — the Supreme Court's designated arguer Paul Clement. This is will be the fourth time these two lawyers have squared off in front of the highest court in the land and so far Verilli is 2-0, with the one decision still pending. There was even a fifth case when they fought on the same side. (They won, naturally.)
One key difference between today's hearing and last month's three-day marathon (besides the length) is that Justice Elena Kagan will not sit in on the arguments. Because she was working in the Solicitor General's office when the case first came up, she has recused herself. That means the potential for 4-4 tie among the remaining justices and a tie goes to the previous ruling. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled the Arizona law unconstitutional, so without a clear 5-3 win to overturn it, that decision will stand.