Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’s Commentary on Citizens United from the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission Conference

As part of its continuing coverage of Representing Hope: New Paradigms for Access to Justice, the Journal is pleased to present Justice Stevens’ capstone speech from the event. Appointed to the nation’s highest court in 1975, Justice Stevens served as a justice to the Supreme Court of the United States until his retirement in 2010. The same year, the Court issued its now famous ruling in a 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee, holding that restrictions on independent expenditures in political campaigns violated the free speech protections of the First Amendment. Justice Stevens authored a passionate dissent in the case, whose verdict permits corporations and unions to spend unlimited sums on advertisements designed to help or hurt political candidates. In his remarks at Representing Hope, Justice Stevens argued that not only would the Court be forced to narrow Citizens United’s scope at some point in the near future, but also that some of his colleagues on the Court have already questioned the decision. The evening before Justice Stevens delivered his remarks at Representing Hope, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Obama.

Justice Stevens's Remarks

Posted in: News
Read more about: , , , , ,

Comments are closed.