West Virginia University law professor Valarie Blake co-authored an article published at The Conversation with political science professor Simon Haeder on December 17, 2018. The article is titled "Why the Texas ruling on Obamacare is on shaky legal ground" and discusses the opinion federal judge in Texas which struck down the entire Affordable Care Act on the grounds that its mandate requiring people to buy health insurance is unconstitutional and the rest of the law cannot stand without it. Professors Black and Haeder argue that the ACA is well settled law and that politics have heavily shaped this case.