Posted: January 31st, 2017

examine a recent case opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court that will cover many of the areas we will discuss this semester such as stare decisis, administrative law, statutory interpretation and application, case briefing, the role of the courts in interpretation laws, and appellate review of lower court decisions.

We will examine a recent case opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court that will cover many of the areas we will discuss this semester such as stare decisis, administrative law, statutory interpretation and application, case briefing, the role of the courts in interpretation laws, and appellate review of lower court decisions.
In January 2010, a divided Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down decades old limits on corporate political expenditures, potentially reshaping the 2010 election landscape by permitting businesses and unions to spend freely on commercials for or against candidates. The ruling, which overturned two precedents, struck down not only a provision of the 2002 McCain Feingold campaign finance act limiting corporate funded political ads immediately before federal elections, but also federal laws dating to 1947, and state laws that were older still. Those earlier laws restricted corporations from directly funding political activity from their general treasuries.
Attached you will find the Supreme Court decision and a Wall Street Journal articled titled Court Kills Limits on Corporate Politicking. This case will serve as the source for the writing assignment in this course due on November 5, 2010. To complete this assignment, please
prepare a 7 page minimum submission that provides responses to the following questions in narrative format consistent with the format set forth in the course syllabus:
1. What was the holding in this case? What previous decisions were overturned? How did the justices vote in this case?
2. What is legal precedent? Why is precedent important? How does this decision impact precedent? Why is consistent application of precedent generally important for businesses, strategy, and planning?
3. What laws/case decisions were upheld in this decision and why? Which ones were struck down? Why were the laws/case decisions struck down?
4. How was the First Amendment involved in the analysis of these laws/case decisions? How were some of the laws discussed in this case deemed violations of the First Amendment, while others were not?
5. What was the position of the dissenters in this case? How did the dissenters address the First Amendment analysis of these laws/case decisions?
6. How could businesses and unions contribute to campaigns before this ruling? How were they prohibited from contributing or campaigning? Why would businesses and unions want to contribute to political campaigns?
7. How does state law restrict campaign funding? Why is campaign funding addresses by both federal and state law? Why would regulation in this area be different in different states? How can businesses and unions deal with the differences in state law?
8. How will the advertising industry be affected by this decision? How will media outlets be affected? What areas of these industries will be most affected and why?
9. What public relations issues should businesses and unions consider when approaching the issue of campaign finance? How could the possible actions be perceived positively and negatively for both of these types of organizations?
10. In 4 5 paragraphs, argue the position for either the Federal Elections Commission or Citizens United by asserting the reasons why, for the Federal Elections Commission, the decision is incorrect and the implications of the decision for businesses or, for Citizens United, the decision is correct and the implications of the decision for business.
Please review your draft assignment carefully before submitting to ensure the responses are accurate and complete. Check for any spelling and grammatical errors. I will deduct points for any spelling and grammatical errors. The court s opinion is also attached. Late submissions will receive one letter grade reduction for each day it is received after this due date.