Clinton, Campaigns, and Corporate Expenditures: The Supreme Court's Recent Decision in Citizen's United and Its Impact on Corporate Political Influence

(Excerpt) In order to effectively analyze the impact of the Court’s holding in this controversial 5-4 decision, this article will discuss the following: Part I will discuss the case law and regulatory history of campaign finance law in the United States over the past one-hundred years; Part II will look at the campaign finance law at issue in Citizens United—the McCain-Feingold Act—and some of its critical components; Part III will look at the background of the Citizens United case and the Court’s holding, along with some of its practical implications; Part IV will examine some lesser discussed aspects of the decision as well as the issues that have been misinterpreted by the media; and Part V will offer some conclusions.