Reference no: EM133317435

KNOWLEDGE

This homework is designed to help students explain the role, activities, and major types of interest groups and describe various techniques used by interest groups to influence; and Identify and examine individual and collective actions to try to influence policy and politics (also known as civic engagement) and evaluate issues of public concern.

TASKS

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (FEC) was a case decided by the Supreme Court in 2010. It profoundly changed the relationship between corporations (aka, economic interest groups) and political spending in the United States. Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization, brought the suit against the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), the body that regulates political spending in the United States. Citizens United complained that the FEC prevented it from advertising a political documentary in 2008 about Senator Hillary Clinton, who was running for the Democratic Party's nomination for president. The FEC was enforcing a provision of the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002. Under that law, corporations and labor unions were prevented from engaging in "electioneering communication" within 30 days of a primary contest. In 2010, the majority of the court voted 5-4 in favor of Citizens United and ruled that it could have shown the film in 2008.

The case was highly controversial because of the extent to which the court was treating corporations as individuals. People argued that the majority was subscribing to a controversial legal argument called "corporate personhood." In 1886, in Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were collections of people; therefore, they were entitled to the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause ensuring that all "people" have the free speech rights of the First Amendment. This ruling was limited because the court recognized that corporations could not keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment, nor could they vote under the 15th Amendment, nor did they have the right to refuse to testify against themselves in court under the 5th Amendment. Some legal scholars have found the 19th-century Court's ruling on this matter nonsensical. They argue that corporations are not people, and the fact that they can not exercise all individual rights proves the point.

In 2010, however, Justice Kennedy and the majority of the court did not mention "corporate personhood" or the 14th Amendment in the Citizens United decision. Kennedy combined previous case law principles to argue that the government could not legally restrict a corporation's right to "speak" under the 1st Amendment, and therefore could not prevent corporations from spending money on political communication at any stage of the political process.

In an unusual step, one of the opposing justices, John Paul Stevens, read portions of his dissent to the opinion at the court, rather than submitting it in writing. He implied that in fact the majority on the court was making a case for corporate personhood. He warned of the consequences of allowing corporations to spend money to influence elections in the same way as individual citizens. His dissent challenged the idea that there is no such thing as too much speech, arguing that such restrictions had a purpose in ensuring public faith in the electoral system.

Since Citizens United, many have called for passing a constitutional amendment that abolishes corporate personhood or any law or interpretation of the law that treats corporations as individuals, overturning both Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886) and Citizens United v. FEC (2010).

Answer the following question in a brief response paper that should be (100) to (400) words in length: Do you agree with the idea of "corporate personhood? Why? Instructions: Write (100) words in response to the questions.

How to Write Response:

Your response will be anywhere from (100) to (500) words, depending on the instructions you are given. This means it could be a single paragraph of about (10) sentences or several paragraphs with about (25) to (30) sentences.

In this type of response, you are giving your opinion or reaction, so you may use "I" or "me."

There is no introduction. You start with a declarative sentence that directly answers the question.

It is followed by several sentences where you explain why you have this position.

You must use information from the Background and Source that you feel supports your opinion or reaction. Quotations are recommended.
Because this is a short and informal response, there is no need for a conclusion.