The supreme court refused Sustainable Shetland leave to appeal to the European court, but the campaigners said they would review their legal options.
The two supreme court justices thought likely to cast the deciding votes, Anthony Kennedy and the chief justice, John Roberts, appeared deeply sceptical of the government's contention that healthcare regulation is a special case that gives Congress the power to oblige individuals to obtain insurance.
Hill's attorney, Brian Kammer, issued a statement after the stay: "All the doctors who have examined Mr Hill are unanimous in their diagnosis of mental retardation, so there is no question that his execution would have been in violation of the US supreme court's 2002 ruling in Atkins v Virginia.
But the wunderkind, who runs the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London, was anything but blasé last night about the success of his dark satire on suburbia.
"It will take us a lot longer to get a good Supreme Court decision if the Court has to overrule itself".
Whether the action's beneficiaries in the streets below appreciated the reference to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling was not recorded, but in a press release, activists did claim that a woman who had been trying to collect money for a bus ride was able to pay her fare with the free money.
The global success of its franchises – The Walking Dead is the biggest-ever cable show in the US and has a massive global following – has led AMC to make the $1bn bet on controlling its own content on channels internationally.
Related: Republicans drop abortion vote after revolt by female House members Supporters of the bill had hoped it would be passed on Thursday to coincide with the March for Life, a huge anti-abortion gathering held on the Mall each year to mark the anniversary of the supreme court's 1973 ruling to legalise abortion, Roe v Wade.
Sadr's popularity among Shias far exceeds that of that Dawa Party which Maliki leads, or the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) of his ally, Ayatollah Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, which has its own militia, the Badr Brigades.
So while British TV critics regularly – and often justifiably – lament that the best drama is made in America, UK series are now enjoying unprecedented success in the US.
On Monday, the US supreme court will hear oral arguments in the Sheehan case, to decide whether and how disabilities regulations apply to police policies and procedures during arrests.
