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Citizens United Background Reading
May. 26th, 2012 07:15 amFor people who want to read in depth about Citizens United without slogging through the legal documents:
Jeffrey Toobin writes a spy-thriller behind-the-scenes analysis of how the case came to be: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/21/120521fa_fact_toobin
Toobin lays out how the Court didn't want to rule on the narrow grounds initially argued and blames Justice Kennedy for opening up the larger First Amendment questions that led to the verdict we have.
Vikram Amar response: http://verdict.justia.com/2012/05/25/the-citizens-united-case-and-jeffrey-toobins-account-of-it-in-the-new-yorker
Amar was a clerk for SCOTUS Justice Harry Blackmun at the same time as Toobin so knows a bit about the insides of the Court. He argues that the facts at hand don't support Toobin's theories about what happened.
Jonathan Adler response: http://volokh.com/2012/05/14/jeffrey-toobin-on-citizens-united/
Adler also believes the facts don't support Toobin's assertion and as well he questions the legal basis for one of Toobin's key contentions, that Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart screwed up and opened the door to the larger issues.
And if you do like reading opinions, Kennedy's (5-4) majority opinion: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf
Stevens wrote the main dissent, though the other three also had things to say: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZX.html
Jeffrey Toobin writes a spy-thriller behind-the-scenes analysis of how the case came to be: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/21/120521fa_fact_toobin
Toobin lays out how the Court didn't want to rule on the narrow grounds initially argued and blames Justice Kennedy for opening up the larger First Amendment questions that led to the verdict we have.
Vikram Amar response: http://verdict.justia.com/2012/05/25/the-citizens-united-case-and-jeffrey-toobins-account-of-it-in-the-new-yorker
Amar was a clerk for SCOTUS Justice Harry Blackmun at the same time as Toobin so knows a bit about the insides of the Court. He argues that the facts at hand don't support Toobin's theories about what happened.
Jonathan Adler response: http://volokh.com/2012/05/14/jeffrey-toobin-on-citizens-united/
Adler also believes the facts don't support Toobin's assertion and as well he questions the legal basis for one of Toobin's key contentions, that Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart screwed up and opened the door to the larger issues.
And if you do like reading opinions, Kennedy's (5-4) majority opinion: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf
Stevens wrote the main dissent, though the other three also had things to say: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZX.html
