Supreme Court Gets Chance to Revise Citizens United Ruling

The Supreme Court on Thursday may decide to revisit its controversial Citizens United ruling when it considers whether to uphold a Montana campaign finance law. The Justices will meet in private conference to review the state’s 100-year-old rule prohibiting corporate election spending, which contradicts the high Court’s decision in Citizens United.

The Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in the case, urging the Court to uphold the law and use the case to clarify rules governing independent spending. “This election season has been marked by a disturbing new phenomenon — billionaires seeming to sponsor presidential candidates like racehorses,” reads the brief. “Just eighteen months after Citizens United, the new reality portends tremendous risks of corruption and its appearance in this election and those to come.”

The Brennan Center released a video explaining the Montana case and the history of Citizens United and super PACs.

The Court could announce as soon as next week whether it will take the case. Read this Politico op-ed from Brennan Center Counsel Adam Skaggs outlining Montana’s history of corruption and explaining why the Court should revisit the issue. See more at our Election 2012 page.

The Center’s experts are available to comment on the Montana case, Citizens United, and super PACs. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Erik Opsal at erik.opsal@nyu.edu or 646–292–8356.