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The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land. In 2010, the US Supreme Court (the highest
court in our country) ruled that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political
independent expenditures by corporations, associations or labor unions. Meaning that a corporation
could spend as much as it wants on political campaigns of candidates running for office as long as it is not
a direct contribution. The case arose from a conservation lobbying group, Citizens United. The group
wanted to air a film critical of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential election and to advertise the film
during television broadcasts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such action was allowed and was
protected under the corporations’ first amendment rights of freedom of speech.
Please answer any of the following questions:
Do you agree with the decision? What happens when a decision is made by the US Supreme Court? Is it
binding? Can the State of New York decide to ignore it and impose it’s own law limiting corporation’s
spending on political campaigns?
Does the US Constitution recognize a corporation’s freedom of speech under the Bill of Rights?
Do you see a danger in allowing corporations the ability to spend millions of dollars supporting a political
candidate for any office?
Sample Solution
