David Bossie, leader of Citizens United and producer of "Hillary: The Movie", is seen in his office in Washington, March 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
CITIZENS UNITED V. FEC, (2010)
The Court took this small dispute over a restriction on running a virulently anti-Hillary Clinton film on pay-per-view television and blew it up into a devastating constitutional ruling that has distorted our political process beyond recognition. Not content with issuing a limited ruling, the Court ordered the parties to address whether significant constitutional precedent should be overturned. The Court proceeded to wipe out a century of precedent, holding that corporations have First Amendment rights that prohibit restrictions on their independent campaign expenditures. Justice Anthony Kennedy justified the decision by stating as constitutional principle the notion that independent expenditures cannot corrupt. This landmark decision has combined with its progeny to empower big moneyed interests.
