Citizens United Ruling
2/11/2010
On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a landmark ruling that declared that laws barring corporations and unions from making direct independent advocacy expenditures violate the First Amendment. While an important ruling, its immediate impact on the political process has likely been overstated, in that corporations and labor unions, through issue advocacy, already had significant opportunities to impact elections. Its real impact could be the doctrinal shift that it represents — which could pave the way for more dramatic changes in the funding of political campaigns. Read more ...
