Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
22 states along with D.C. backing Montana legal battle
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
May 21st, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
May 21st, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Twenty-two states, along with the District of Columbia are backing
Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens
United decision from being used to shoot down state laws restricting
corporate campaign spending.
In addition, the Supreme Court is being asked to reverse a state court's decision to uphold the Montana law. Virginia-based American Tradition Partnership is asking the nation's high court to rule without a hearing because the group says the state law conflicts directly with the Citizens United decision that removed the federal ban on corporate campaign spending. The Supreme Court has blocked the Montana law until it can look at the case.
Critics hope the court will reverse itself on the controversial Citizens United ruling. The 22 states and D.C. say the Montana law is sharply different from the federal issues in the Citizens United case, so the ruling shouldn't apply to Montana's or other state laws in regards to corporate campaign spending.
The states say they would support a Supreme Court decision to reconsider portions of the Citizens United ruling either in a future case or in the Montana case, if the justices decide to take it on.
Legal observers believe the Supreme Court will not reconsider its decision.
"It is highly unlikely that the Court would reverse its decision in Citizens United," law professor Richard L. Hasen of the University of California-Irvine says.
At the very least, the court would listen to arguments and might agree a clarification is needed to allow the Montana law to stand - which is highly unlikely.
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock argues that political corruption in the Copper King era led to the state ban on corporate campaign spending. He says that a clarification of Citizens United is needed to clarify that states can block certain political spending in the interest of limiting corruption.
American Tradition Partnership argues that the state bans unfairly restrict the ability of corporations to engage in the political process that also affects them.
Bullock wrote in a brief to be released Monday that the state does not "ban" corporate political speech, rather, it regulates that speech by requiring the formation of political action committees.
Running for governor, Bullock says the upstart political corporations hoping to take advantage of unfettered spending are merely "an anonymous conduit of unaccountable campaign spending."
Montana and the other states are asking the court to either let the Montana Supreme Court decision stand or to hold a full hearing. They argue laws like the one in Montana that bans political spending straight from corporate treasuries are needed to prevent corruption.
The states who filed the brief in support of Montana are New York, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.