No Decision Today on Citizens United
Published November 16, 2009 @ 09:26AM PT
Rick Hasen at the Election Law Blog just reported that no decision was issued by the Supreme Court today in the Citizens United case. That means the next chance for them to issue an opinion on the case is December 1st.
Beyond Citizens United v. FEC: Re-Examining Corporate Rights
Published November 08, 2009 @ 11:44AM PT
There are two more occasions before Thanksgiving in which we might possibly hear word from the Supreme Court about the Citizens United case - Tuesday, November 10, and Monday, November 16.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United is set to either expand the doctrines of corporate personhood and corporate rights by expanding the application of the First Amendment to political campaign contributions made by corporations, or to forestall such expansion and chip away slightly at the legitimacy of the use of the First and Fourteenth Amendments for corporations. As lawyer Jeffrey D. Clements points out in "Beyond Citizens United v. FEC: Re-Examining Corporate Rights," his issue briefing of the case, this could be an opportune time for the Court to reexamine the disputed and controversial extension of these amendments to corporations.
Clements is the author of one of the amicus briefs in Citizens United filed in favor of the Federal Election Commission's enforcement of the campaign finance law prohibiting certain types of corporate campaign contributions at the federal level. His issue briefing is very much worth reading. It not only gives a clear synopsis of the case, but also of the previous decisions (Austin and McConnell) that are at risk of being overruled. He goes on to provide a history of both the court's debate and public discourse around the nature of corporations and their legal status, particularly as it relates to participation in politics. He argues clearly that corporations, being entities that are created in the first place by statutes, cannot be endowed with "rights" that overturn statutory restrictions states would put upon them.
The briefing has been highlighted by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy; you can read their short description of it here or access the entire briefing as a PDF.
"Corporate Democracy: Potential Fallout from a Supreme Court decision on Citizens United"
Published November 02, 2009 @ 07:55PM PT
That's the name of a report from Common Cause, available as a PDF here.
They suggest that the overturning of precedent barring direct corporate contributions in federal elections is likely to come as a 5-4 vote, possibly as early as November 3rd.
The result of this:
"Corporations and unions already spend hundreds of millions per cycle through PACs and 527s to influence federal elections. Allowing corporations to directly tap their enormous profits for unlimited political spending will hasten the nation's descent into a new era of "corporate democracy," where entities whose sole purpose is to maximize profits are given free rein to dominate elections and drown out the voices of ordinary Americans."
The authors of the Common Cause report suggest that "the only short-term option available to 'change the game' is to create a new system of paying for political campaigns based on a blend of small donors and limited public funding that allows candidates to run highly competitive races without relying on wealthy special interests."
While this is true (and the report has more on the Fair Elections Now Act, which would help bring this about) it's also clear that corporations shouldn't be engaging in a political process intended for citizens. The Citizens United case offers the chance for broad discussion on why, exactly, corporations have rights to participate in our elections at all, and why the Supreme Court should be interested in expanding those rights even further.
As we continue to wait for the decision in this case, this is an excellent opportunity to engage those around you on the issue of corporate personhood and the damage it does to the basic structures of our democracy. Elections are only one place in which this damage occurs; this is why we know that, in the long term, we need more than just fair election laws. We need to end corporate personhood and corporate rights, so that our entire legal system is centered back on protecting and enriching the lives of human citizens, rather than protecting corporate profit and corporate power.
Democracy Unlimited Discusses Corporate Personhood, Citizens United v. FEC on the Radio
Published October 26, 2009 @ 12:31PM PT
David Cobb and Ashley Sanders of Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County recently broke down the Citizens United case and the issue of corporate personhood in a radio interview with Robert Nelson on Salt Lake City's KRCL 90.9. Listen to the full interview here.
The Citizens United case was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on September 9th, and a decision is pending. The Court is considering overturning legislation that currently limits corporate campaign contributions in federal elections. Lawyers for Citizens United have argued that such limits interfere with corporate constitutional rights. Democracy Unlimited and other organizations have filed amicus briefs arguing against corporate personhood and corporate rights. You can read this brief and others at the SCOTUS Wiki page on the case.
Colbert Tackles Corporate Personhood
Published September 23, 2009 @ 08:46AM PT
Stephen Colbert, for his September 15th show, does a great breakdown of corporate personhood and corporate rights in both his regular The Word section, and in an interview with lawyer and columnist Jeffrey Toobin. They address both the oddity of the 1886 Santa Clara precedent, as well as the likelihood of the Supreme Court expanding corporate participation in elections through the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission case.
Check it out:
September 15th's The Word - Let Freedom Ka-Ching:
And his interview with Jeffrey Toobin:
We're Back - Help Keep this Blog Updated!
Published September 23, 2009 @ 08:33AM PT
It's autumn, and I'm back after a summer hiatus on blogging. And barely in the nick of time - because if you've been paying attention, corporate personhood has been hitting the news big time, all due to a current US Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. I'll be doing a series of posts on this topic, but for any of you reading this blog, please help us keep track of the public discussion around this case and corporate personhood more generally by emailing links to be posted or posting them yourselves inteh comments.
Alternatives to General Motors
Published June 07, 2009 @ 12:03PM PT
What is the alternative to the corporation?
This is a question we must consider if we want to organize a more democratic economy, and create a system of governance that responds to human persons, not corporate 'persons.'
One way to lessen the strength of the entire corporate sector is to put economic power into other more democratic forms of business organization.
Mike Ferner, of the Program on Corporations, Law, and Democracy, takes a look at the possibilities for doing that with General Motors. Read his piece, "We Don't Need the General Motors Corp." now up at CommonDreams.org.
And for another reason why we don't need General Motors, see my earlier post here.
