Litigation

On the Widespread Impact of ?Citizens United?

By Peter Hardin

From Arizona to Washington, D.C., a single day’s dispatches suggest the far-reaching impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

The Arizona Republic reported that Arizona’s secretary of state has proposed changes in the law that would bring compliance with Citizens United. No longer, the newspaper said, was old Arizona law enforceable, because it barred corporations and unions from making political expenditures to support or oppose state candidates.

In Washington, Tom Goldstein looked ahead and predicted in SCOTUSblog that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will retire; that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will not; and that the Obama administration may raise the court’s profile, uniting with congressional Democrats to portray the court as pro-corporation. Goldstein remarks:

“The public?s hostility to the Citizens United decision ? consciously stoked by the White House ? is pretty much off the charts.”

You can visit Gavel Grab for polling results, or click here for earlier posts about Citizens United.

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 23, 2010 (boomark / email).