Stephen Herrington: Citizens United May Prohibit Union Busting by States
Stephen Herrington: Citizens United May Prohibit Union Busting by States
With the ruling of the Supreme Court in Citizens United vs. the FEC, 1st Amendment guaranteed free speech is now extended to corporations, unions and any other groups, foreign or domestic in citizenship or allegiance. Prior to Citizens United, the concept of a corporate personhood extended only to rights under the 14th Amendment such as Due Process and Equal Protection under the law, although that limit has been tested regularly as corporate money has sought a path into influencing American politics.
Over the years, corporations had won, through the Judiciary, the right to spend in influence of issue politics. It wasn't until Citizens United that they won recognition by the Supreme Court as citizens fully worthy of the 1st Amendment right of advocating for or against individual candidates. It was a radical departure from precedent and the effects of it will radically change both our law and our politics. To date, most of the focus on the effects of that decision have been on the political ramifications. But there's a Pandora's box of issues in law that have not yet reverberated from this decision.
With the ruling of the Supreme Court in Citizens United vs. the FEC, 1st Amendment guaranteed free speech is now extended to corporations, unions and any other groups, foreign or domestic in citizenship or allegiance. Prior to Citizens United, the concept of a corporate personhood extended only to rights under the 14th Amendment such as Due Process and Equal Protection under the law, although that limit has been tested regularly as corporate money has sought a path into influencing American politics.
Over the years, corporations had won, through the Judiciary, the right to spend in influence of issue politics. It wasn't until Citizens United that they won recognition by the Supreme Court as citizens fully worthy of the 1st Amendment right of advocating for or against individual candidates. It was a radical departure from precedent and the effects of it will radically change both our law and our politics. To date, most of the focus on the effects of that decision have been on the political ramifications. But there's a Pandora's box of issues in law that have not yet reverberated from this decision.
posted by Jay at
7:21 PM
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