Supreme Court Reconvenes: Campaign Cash, Guns, Football, and Other Excitements
The Washington Post’s Supreme Court reporter, Robert Barnes, brings observers up to speed with a piece on the Court’s return to session after the holiday break.
Constitutional scholars and those in the political arena are eager for the court to issue a decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. As Barnes notes, a case that began with a relatively narrow question about the underwriting of a highly critical “documentary” about Hillary Clinton during the last campaign season took on much broader dimensions when the Court chose to expand its examination to whether a longtime ban on certain corporate and union campaign contributions passes constitutional muster:
The court heard oral arguments on the original question in March 2009, but adjourned in June without a decision. Instead, the justices said they would consider the larger question of whether it is constitutional to ban corporations and labor unions from drawing funds from their general treasuries to support or oppose candidates.
Congress for decades has outlawed such expenditures, and 22 states have similar bans. Both sides agree that a ruling saying such restrictions are unconstitutional would mean a sea change in the way political campaigns are funded.
The court’s decision to hear the larger question in September, in advance of its regular term, was seen as a possible attempt to expedite the ruling before the midterm primary season. But not much time is left; Illinois will hold elections on Feb. 2.
Three other closely watched matters that the court will hear this spring involve a 2nd Amendment case challenging the authority of municipalities and states to restrict gun ownership, a case dealing with criminal defendants’ rights to call crime lab technicians to the stand to challenge their conclusions, and an NFL anti-trust case.