tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632799866038369455.post8274397228186834351..comments2023-09-29T04:06:10.974-04:00Comments on Peter Jennings Project: Featured Guest Blogger: Lyle DennistonNational Constitution Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15811271345613488822noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632799866038369455.post-21403268649482413502010-02-17T14:52:51.803-05:002010-02-17T14:52:51.803-05:00The dissenters notwithstanding, it is not self-evi...The dissenters notwithstanding, it is not self-evident that corporate "personhood" is the functional concept at work in Citizens United v. FEC. The majority did not find that a corporation is a “person” nor did it state that such a finding would be necessary to accord First Amendment protection to corporate speech. Rather, the majority applied a speech-centric analysis consistent with First National Bank v. Bellotti (1978), wherein the Court had rejected “personhood” as a prerequisite to First Amendment protection of corporate speech. “The proper question,” wrote Justice Powell for the Bellotti Court, “is not whether corporations ‘have’ First Amendment rights and, if so, whether they are coextensive with those of natural persons. Instead, the question must be whether . . . [governmental action] abridges expression that the First Amendment was meant to protect.” The novelty of Citizens United, then, is to be found in the heightened commitment to speech-centrism in campaign finance cases. This almost certainly means that the analysis in future cases will turn more to the nature and degree of burdens placed on “political speech” than to Justice Ginsburg’s for-now antiquated attempts to distinguish corporations from natural persons.MFHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11134100667746644672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632799866038369455.post-39401671984214541502010-02-15T12:47:29.765-05:002010-02-15T12:47:29.765-05:00It's not only Congress that's looking to r...It's not only Congress that's looking to review corporate rights. There have been a number of citizens' groups over the years who have discussed the issue of corporate personhood, and their movement is growing after the Citizens United decision. See for instance the "Move to Amend" campaign - one of numerous groups calling for a constitutional amendment, but they have some of the most game-changing proposals: http://www.movetoamend.orgmeghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08620502383457868515noreply@blogger.com