Corporate Personhood
Contents
- Introduction to "Corporate Personhood"
- Controversies Relating to Corporate Personhood
- In-depth Articles and Resources
- Significant U.S. Court Cases in the Evolution of Corporate "Rights"
- Our Campaigns and What You Can Do
- Groups Challenging Corporate Personhood
- Other Initiatives Challenging Corporate Personhood
Introduction to Corporate Personhood
Our Bill of Rights was the result of tremendous efforts to institutionalize and protect the rights of human beings. It strengthened the premise of our Constitution: that the people are the root of all power and authority for government. This vision has made our Constitution and government a model emulated in many nations.
But corporate lawyers (acting as both attorneys and judges) subverted our Bill of Rights in the late 1800's by establishing the doctrine of "corporate personhood" -- the claim that corporations were intended to fully enjoy the legal status and protections created for human beings.
We believe that corporations are not persons and possess only the privileges we willfully grant them. Granting corporations the status of legal "persons" effectively rewrites the Constitution to serve corporate interests as though they were human interests. Ultimately, the doctrine of granting constitutional rights to corporations gives a thing illegitimate privilege and power that undermines our freedom and authority as citizens. While corporations are setting the agenda on issues in our Congress and courts, We the People are not; for we can never speak as loudly with our own voices as corporations can with the unlimited amplification of money.
Read our draft constitutional amendment to revoke corporate constitutional "rights" and offer your thoughts.
Read this model resolution to free democracy from corporate control, along with a list of how's and why's of resolutions to help you catalyze action in your area.
Overviews
Our Hidden Corporate History
This overview of the rise of corporate power in the U.S. also is available as a 2 page flier (pdf), making a great handout.
Timeline of Personhood Rights and Powers
by Jan Edwards (pdf)
Current Debates Relating to Corporate Personhood
The Supreme Court's anti-constitution ruling in Citizens United v FEC sparked two new coalitions to overrule the Court via constitutional amendment: Move To Amend and Free Speech For People (we're engaged in the former). We report on both here.
An image that speaks for itself. Corporate logo flags now available in 2' x 3' size
Digging Deeper: Articles, Briefs & Books
Recommended Articles
The Hijacking of the 14th Amendment by Doug Hammerstrom (pdf)
Santa Clara Blues by William Meyers (pdf). Also in HTML format
Taking Care of Business: Citizenship and the Charter of Incorporation by Richard Grossman and Frank Adams
Personalizing the Impersonal:
Corporations and the Bill of Rights
by Carl Mayer.
Recommended for lawyers or those interested in a
detailed legal history (70 pp html).
When Silence is Not Golden: Negative Corporate Free Speech by Dean Ritz
Abolish Corporate Personhood by Molly Morgan and Jan Edwards.
The PBS program NOW compiled some useful resources on the topic for this 2005 episode.
Court Rules Corporations Enjoy Human Rights, Some People Don't
Recommended Books
The People's Business by Charlie Cray and Lee Drutman
Gangs of America by Ted Nace
Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann
When Corporations Rule the World by David Korten
The Transformation of American Law 1870-1960 by Morton Horwitz (for those interested in detailed legal background). See also Volume 1: 1780-1860.
Note: we often are asked for "the best" book on the topic, but we can't single out one. All of the above are excellent reads with different strengths (they are listed from most to least recent). Feel free to ask if you seek a specific focus.
Significant U.S. Court Cases in the Evolution of Corporate Personhood / Commercial Free Speech
Trustees
of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
Corporate charters are
ruled to have constitutional protection.
Munn
v. State of Illinois (1876)
Property cannot be used to unduly expropriate wealth from a community (later
reversed).
Santa
Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886)
The substance
of this case (a tax dispute) is of little significance, but this
fateful case subsequently was cited as precedent for granting corporations
constitutional rights. Several
articles linked above detail how this happened.
Noble
v. Union River Logging Railroad Company (1893)
A corporation first successfully claims Bill of Rights protection (5th Amendment)
Lochner
v. New York (1905)
States cannot interfere with "private contracts" between workers
and corporation -- marks the ascension of "substantive due process" (later mitigated after President Roosevelt threatend to add Justices to the Court).
Liggett
v. Lee (1933)
Chain store taxes prohibited as violation of corporations' "due process" rights.
Ross
v. Bernhard (1970)
7th Amendment right (jury trial) granted to corporations.
U.S.
v. Martin Linen Supply (1976)
A corporation successfully claims
5th Amendment protection against double jeopardy.
Marshall
v. Barlow (1978)
The Court creates 4th Amendment protection for corporations -- federal inspectors
must obtain a search warrant for a safety inspection on corporate property.
First
National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)
Struck down a Massachusetts law that banned corporate spending to influence
state ballot initiatives, even spending by corporate political action committees.
Spending money to influence politics is now a corporate "right." Justice Rehnquist's
dissent is a recommended read.
Related articles: * Ballot
Initiatives Hijacked * Behind
the Powell Memo
Central
Hudson Gas v. Public Service Comm. of NY (1980)
This oft-cited decision concerns a state ban on ads promoting electricity consumption.
Austin
v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990)
Upheld limits on corporate spending in elections.
Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)
Nike v Kasky (2002)
Nike claims California cannot require factual accuracy of the corporation in its PR campaigns. California's Supreme Court disagreed. The U.S. Supreme Court took up the case on appeal, then issued a non-ruling in 2003. See our comprehensive archive on this case.
Randall v Sorrell (2006) While this case dealt with the legality of Vermont's contribution limits, not corporations directly, it carried important implications for corporate political influence, as Daniel Greenwood detailed in our amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010). In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overrules Austin and a century of federal legislative precedent to proclaim broad electioneering rights for corporations.
Campaigns to Revoke Corporate Free Speech
The 2010 Citizens United v FEC decision has generated the most interest in years. See our home page for recent updates, along with MoveToAmend, a coalition launched in 2010 to overrule the Court (ReclaimDemocracy.org is a coalition partner).
We also saw success in 2010 in our campaign to persuade the ACLU to reverse its absolutist defense of corporate personhood and advocacy for the notion that "money = speech" get the details here. Please read and endorse our sign-on letter to the ACLU, which urges their directors to reverse their advocacy of corporate personhood. This 3-page letter offers a detailed argument and links to our endorsement form to urge the ACLU to change position.
This campaign dates back to the 2003 Nike v Kasky court battle -- one of the highest profile court cases to date regarding "corporate free speech." We have preserved the large body of material we produced and collected relating to this case (settled out of court after the U.S. Supreme Court passed on any substantive ruling) here.
We used Kasky v. Nike to advance public understanding and legal arguments against granting corporations constitutional rights. Our work included filing a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, doing talk shows and placing op-eds around the country, and direct actions.
Groups Challenging Corporate Personhood
The Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom
The Program on Corporations,
Law and Democracy
helped inspire the work of many
other organizations listed here, ours included.
Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County
works at the community level in California. DUHC and the preceding two groups were party to an amicus brief in the 2009 CU v FEC case (press release here).
Free Speech for People (focused on revoking court-created corporate electioneering powers).
The New Rules Project
serves as a clearinghouse for democracy-enhancing local and state legislation,
much of it challenging corporate power
The American Independent Business Alliance countered the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's unrelenting push for increasing corporate political power in Citizens United v FEC.
The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
does notable work to revoke corporate power and is the source for two of the initiatives listed below
Initiatives Challenging Corporate "Rights"
Pennsylvania Township Passes Ordinance Rejecting Corporate "Rights" -- a First in U.S. Report on the Porter Township Ordinance
The Wayne Township Ordinance This successfully enacted legislation bars recidivist corporations from operating in the Township.
Corporate Personhood Ordinance Model legislation to revoke personhood locally
Non-binding resolutions have been passed in Point Arena and Arcata, CA and, most recently, in Berkeley, as a symbolic stand and educational tool.
Anti-corporate Farming Laws This Nebraska law is one of several such state laws denying corporate "rights" in agriculture.
Party Platform Planks Opposing Corporate Personhood Washington state's Democratic Party was the latest state political party we're aware of to officially oppose corporate personhood -- a tactic that lends itself to being used in almost any locale. Oklahoma, New Hampshire and Maine have passed similar policies.
