Sweeping Decision in Citizens United v. FEC Is a Stunning Display of Judicial Overreach

Statement of Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron

January 21, 2010, Washington, DC—"In a sweeping decision today, the five conservative justices on the Supreme Court have fundamentally changed the rules of the game when it comes to our nation’s elections.  In this abrupt break from the past, the Roberts court bent over backwards to rehear this argument in order to reach a broad decision that overturns key campaign finance precedents and creates a major constitutional shift in campaign finance law.”

“This decision clearly shows that the people who sit on the court matter.  This decision is the pinnnacle of the conservative movement's decades-long effort to  pack the courts with judges more sympathetic to pro-business interests than to everyday Americans.  As Justice Stevens wrote in his dissent, ‘The only relevant thing that has changed since Austin and McConnell is the composition of this Court. Today’s ruling thus strikes at the vitals of stare decisis.’”