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Corporations

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Palladam M Vasudev

2012

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Constitution, Citizenship, And Corporations – A Critical Look At Citizens United V. Fec, P M Vasudev Feb 2012

The Constitution, Citizenship, And Corporations – A Critical Look At Citizens United V. Fec, P M Vasudev

Palladam M Vasudev

“Associations of citizens” is a phrase the US Supreme Court used in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) to refer to corporations. This notion was, apparently, an important element in shaping the Supreme Court’s judgment that permitted corporations to participate in the democratic process through campaign funding. Presumably, the “citizens” the court had in mind are the shareholders of corporations. Treating corporations as citizens in the collective, the Supreme Court upheld their political rights, and there is evidence of disquiet with the decision in Citizens United. My article examines the Supreme Court’s characterization of corporations as associations of citizens …