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The article examines the ruling issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on the case Massachusetts et. al. versus the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its implications for public health policy and practice. The lawsuit was centered on the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by new motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act section 202(a)(1). According to the author, the case proves how the political process can affect the course of public health laws intended to ensure that health policy rests not on the unfounded claims but on scientific inquiry.

The article discusses the implications of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Gonzales versus Oregon for public health policy and practice. The Court rejected efforts by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to preempt state medical practice law permitting physician-assisted suicide. It found that nothing in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) authorized Gonzales to define what constitutes legal medical practice. It concluded that the CSA denied Gonzales the authority he claimed.