View from the Courtroom: Disruption from the gallery on 5th anniversary of Citizens United

[Draggingtree]

Mark Walsh Courtroom

Posted Wed, January 21st, 2015 12:36 pm

View from the Courtroom: Disruption from the gallery on 5th anniversary of Citizens United

A handful of spectators disrupted the opening of Wednesday morning’s Supreme Court session by rising one by one from their seats to shout protests over the Citizens United decision and other populist themes on the fifth anniversary of the controversial ruling.

 

Just after the Justices had taken the bench at 10 a.m., and as they were about to announce opinions, a woman stood from her seat near the back of the courtroom and said, “I rise on behalf of democracy.” She continued with a mention of Citizens United, the 2010 ruling that removed limits on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. ThreeSupreme Court police officers quickly converged on her, causing a loud commotion as they pushed through an area of the courtroom where single wooden chairs are in use, forcefully subdued her, and then removed her from the courtroom.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/01/view-from-the-courtroom-disruption-from-the-gallery-on-5th-anniversary-of-citizens-united/

[Draggingtree]

The Government’s War on Speech: Citizens United at Five

The backlash against the Citizens United decision has unleashed systematic government hostility toward the free-speech rights of its citizens.

By Paul Jossey JANUARY 21, 2015

The most reviled Supreme Court case in America history is undoubtedly Dred Scott v. Sanford. The ruling, which essentially denied U.S. citizenship to an entire group of Americans, fractured the nation, and presaged the bloodiest episode in American history. In 2013, Massachusetts Senate candidate Ed Markey analogized Dred Scott toCitizens United v. FEC—a case involving the rights of people and groups to criticize government officials. Although the comparison may seem outlandish, he was hardly alone in hyperbolic denunciation. An environmental group, for example, asserted the case’s ramifications could endanger the continued existence of fish in the ocean.

 

Citizens United turns five today. Although the republic has persevered and marine life remains abundant, the case has deleteriously affected American democracy.

http://thefederalist.com/2015/01/21/the-governments-war-on-speech-citizens-united-at-five/