Business Law1

The United States Supreme Court recently reversed two precedents regarding the First Amendment rights of corporations. A bitterly divided Court held that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.Follow the directions below to complete this assignment. I am interested in your reaction to this ruling from a legal and personal point of view. A short statement will be sufficient.

Directions:

1. Read the article by Liptak, Adam “Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit”  N.Y. Times. 22 Jan. 2010. at

2. Read both the majority decision and the decisions by those Justices who did not agree and dissented from Supreme Court’s ruling and the Dissents from

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html

3. Go to the Discussion Board forum “Corporate Freedom of Speech” and discuss the following issues:

• Do you agree with the Court’s decision that corporations are entitled to the same degree of freedom of speech as individuals? Why or why not.
• What impact do you think this will have on elections, on community issues, or how you receive the news?
• Does the possible unlimited amount of money that corporations might be able to spend in support or opposition to a candidate or cause give you any concern? Why or why not?

4. Reply to at least two of your classmates using the discussion grading criteria