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Citizens United Decided: Major Changes in Campaign Finance Laws

By Lawrence Solum

The opinion is here and I have provided a version for download on Legal Theory Blog: Download CitizensUnited.  And finally, here is another http://electionlawblog.org/archives/cu-sct.pdflink.

For analysis, check out Rick Hasen's Election Law Blog and Scotus Blog.  Hasen's piece for Slate is available at this link.  At Scotus Blog, Lyle Denniston has a post entitled Analysis: A few open, or not so open, questions The next campaign finance lawsuit?

NPR describes the decision as follows:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down key provisions of some of the central laws governing how the nation's political campaigns are financed just ahead of the pivotal 2010 midterm congressional primaries and election season.

By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, overturning a 20-year-old ruling.

And here is a link to the New York Times story.  Tom Goldstein opines on Scotus Blog: "The Court's decision overturns the previously settled distinction between corporate and individual expenditures in American elections."  Rick Hasen says, "It is a transformative opinion."

Scotus Blog adds the following links:

• AP (via the Washington Post): Supreme Court rolls back campaign spending limits
• Bloomberg: Corporate Campaign Spending Backed By U.S. High Court
• Reuters: Supreme Court rejects corporate campaign spending limits
• Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Overturns Limits on Corporate Spending in Political Campaigns
• ABC News: Supreme Court Overturns Campaign Spending Limits on Corporations, Unions
• ABA Journal: 5-4 Citizens United Ruling ?a Revolution in Campaign Finance Law?
• L.A. Times: Supreme Court overturns ban on direct corporate spending on elections
• Washington Post: Supreme Court rejects limits on corporate spending in electoral campaigns

And here are some more links from the Washington Post:

• Politico: Court decision opens new avenues for corporate political spending
• Fox News: Supreme Court Removes Limits on Corporate, Labor Donations to Campaigns
• Firedoglake: Supreme Court Unleashes Corporate Campaign Cash In Citizen's United Decision
• National Review's Bench Memos: Freedom in Citizens United
• Open Left: Normalizing the Dishonest, Corrupt and Unacceptable
• E.J. Dionne discussion: Corporate takeover: The Supreme Court's reckless conservative activism

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on January 21, 2010 (boomark / email).