Constitutional

David Strauss: “Campaign Finance First Principles”

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

David Strauss: “Campaign Finance First Principles”

University of Chicago Law Professor David Strauss discusses how an ideal democracy would regulate its elections.  Strauss argues that the problem with American campaign finance laws stems from a fundamental distinction that the Supreme Court made in Buckley v. Valeo– between equality and corruption. Buckley held that the only legitimate end of campaign finance reforms laws was to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption.  However, equalizing candidates ability to be influential is not a legitimate interest of campaign finance reform.   The Court held that “the concept that government may restrict the speech of some [in] order to enhance the relative voice of others is wholly foreign to the First Amendment.”

Strauss says that this was the original sin of the Court’s campaign finance jurisprudence.  “Equalization” is precisely what campaign finance reform law should do.

 

It is a law lecture that is  57:55 min.

Top Republicans and Corporations File Amicus Breifs Supporting Same-Sex Marriage

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Top Republicans and Corporations File Amicus Briefs Supporting Same-Sex Marriage

As NPR’s Talk of the Nation reported, several prominent Republicans filed an amicus brief in support of same-sex marriage this week.

Some of the conservative signatories include:

  1.  Jon Huntsman Jr. (former Utah governor and presidential candidate)
  2. Meg Whitman (who for California governor supporting Prop 8)
  3. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Richard Hanna (R-NY);
  4. Stephen J. Hadley (Bush national security adviser)
  5. Carlos Gutierrez (Bush’s commerce secretary)
  6. James B. Comey (Bush Justice Department)
  7. David A. Stockman,(Ronald Reagan’s budget director)
  8. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) (retired House member who was part of the Republican leadership)

These conservatives join Ted Olson, who argued on behalf on George W. Bush before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and served as his solicitor general, and is now part of the counsel of record arguing for same-sex marriage.

Moreover, major companies such as Apple, Intel, Facebook, and eBay have united to pen an amicus brief in favor of same-sex marriage, arguing that bans on same-sex marriage hurt the economy.

“Is The Voting Rights Act Relevant In 2013?”

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

“Is The Voting Rights Act Relevant In 2013?”

That was the question presented recent by the NPR Program Talk of the Nation (30 minutes).

This issue was also explored by an all-star round table including Akhil Amar (Yale Law School), Judith Browne-Dianis (Advancement Project), Linda greenhouse (Yale Law School), Dale Ho ( NAACP Lead Defense Fund), and Debo Adegbile (special counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund), who argued before the Supreme Court in this case (Shelby County v. Holder).  Video of this discussion, which is explicitly one-sided in favor of the Voting Rights Act, is available here (approximately eight minutes) and here (approximately four and a half minutes) and here (approximately five minutes).

Finally, the Shields and Brooks podcast discussed this topic as well as the sequester.  Discussion of the voting rights act begins about eight and a half minutes into this twelve minute clip.