Yes We Can! Long Island 2012Might our prayers be answered? Could it be that the Montana Supreme Court has given the United States Supreme Court the opportunity to reconsider the “Citizens United” decision?
At the very, very end of 2011, a Montana court decision defied the Roberts Court by upholding Montana’s ban on corporate spending in state elections. Let’s not forget that the Court has given us not only CU but the Bush election. At the same time, overturning CU is an inspirational thought.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer have called for a reconsideration of the Court’s January 2010 Citizens United ruling. The Court has issued a stay of the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling which had upheld the state’s century-old law banning corporate money in elections.
The stay order means that, for the first time in a century, corporations may make unlimited expenditures in Montana’s state’s elections. This, by itself, is not a good thing.
However, Ginsburg and Breyer, issued a concurring statement making clear that this case is an opportunity to consider whether, in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates’ allegiance, Citizens United should continue to hold sway.
Will the Supreme Court prove willing to consider the Montana case? Could it possibly issue a
reversal of the state’s supreme court ruling without a full argument on the merits or whether it will allow that full argument. It is not likely but not out of the realm of possibility. Consideration of the state ruling will serve to highlight the enormous impact of the Citizens United ruling on our democracy.
Certiorari would give the Supreme Court an opportunity to consider whether, given the enormous amounts of money currently invested in buying elections, Citizens United should be allowed to stand. It will take two more Justices on the Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiorari to permit hearing arguments on the constitutionality of Montana’s law. My reading of the situation tells me that the Court may very well decide to accept review of the Montana ruling because it defies the Supree Court’s given the claim that the Montana Supreme Court decision defies the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.
Thanks to the statements of Ginsburg and Breyer, revisitng the CU decision may actually come to be. Oral argument could be presented this spring or, more likely given the politics of the situation, may be introduced at in the fall when Supreme Court sits for its next term.
Josh Silver wrote in Huff post: The implications of this are huge, as it paves the way for a potential re-opening of the disastrous Citizens United decision that has spawned billionaire-sponsored super PACs. And if that happens, Chief Justice John Roberts better buckle up for a grassroots mobilization unlike any the court has seen in years.
Wouldn’t that be something? One can only hope.
How much of this I actually understand is one thing. I am asking for those of you who have the advantage of legal training to present your take on the situation.
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