The Supreme Court decided this week in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [pdf] that the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform act represents an unconstitutional restriction on the 1st Amendment rights of corporations. The majority opinion was authored by Justice Kennedy, joined by Scalia, Roberts, Alito and Thomas.
Justices Roberts, Scalia and Thomas all delivered concurring opinions brimming with passion on the matter. One pressing issue was the validity of the Court’s prior decision in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce. The Court chose to overturn Austin, opening a lively internal debate on the scope and limits of stare decisis:
At the same time, stare decisis is neither an “inexorable command,” Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U. S. 558, 577 (2003), nor “a mechanical formula of adherence to the latest decision,” Helvering v. Hallock, 309 U. S. 106, 119 (1940), especially in constitutional cases, see United States v.
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