AFJ Launches New Campaign Exposing the “Roberts Court” as the “Corporate Court”

June 28, 2010, WASHINGTON, DC—On the first day of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's confirmation hearing, Alliance for Justice (AFJ) is launching a campaign to raise awareness about how the Court – led by Chief Justice John Roberts – has been transformed from a fair and independent institution into a highly politicized "Corporate Court."

To launch the campaign, AFJ released a new video and website where people can learn about the Corporate Court and the rulings that define it.

You can view the video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ygU2Gggno

"The Supreme Court has become corporate America's best friend. Too often, it favors special interests at the expense of everyday Americans," said Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice. "The Citizens United ruling made it possible for corporations to exercise unfettered influence over our electoral process. The Exxon case slashed the jury's award for tens of thousands of victims by 90 percent. In case after case, big business wins and everyday Americans lose. In fact, just last week, Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive responsible for the Enron fraud persuaded the Court to make it more difficult for prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against corporate executives. Decision day at the Court is almost always a good day for CEOs, but not so good for the rest of us. We want a fair Court– not a politicized one."

The Supreme Court's pro-corporate shift is the result of a decades-long campaign by special interest groups, and implemented by a hardcore bloc of five conservative justices, to elevate corporate profits and private wealth over individual rights and personal freedoms.

The pro-corporate bias of the Court does not match public desires. Public opinion research from Hart Research Associates showed that voters want Supreme Court justices who approach each case with an open mind and who make fair decisions based on the merits of each case, with a commitment to equal justice for all Americans. They want someone who will not favor powerful interests and who bases decisions on the law and the Constitution, not on a personal political agenda.

The research also revealed several Supreme Court decisions that are very concerning to average voters, including:

• The Court's decision that said a consumer who has been seriously injured by a defective product or medication couldn't sue the manufacturer if federal government regulators approved the product, even if the company knew the product was dangerous.
• The Court's decision that allowed Exxon to escape full financial liability for the damage done by the Exxon-Valdez oil spill to communities and the environment.
• The Court's two decisions that left many waterways no longer protected by the Clean Water Act. 
• The Court's decision that said that a woman who had been paid less than her male peers for 20 years had no right to bring a lawsuit for equal pay, because she failed to file suit within 180 days of the first discrimination – even though she had no way of learning about the discrimination until years later.

For background on the AFJ campaign and the issue of pro-corporate bias in the Roberts Court,

• Visit the Corporate Court website at www.thecorporatecourt.com.
• The AFJ report, "The Roberts Court's Record of Overreaching" is at:
  www.afj.org/check-the-facts/supreme-court-watch/roberts-court-overreach-memo.pdf.
• The AFJ report, "Unprecedented Injustice: The Political Agenda of the Roberts Court" is at:
  www.afj.org/check-the-facts/supreme-court-watch/unprecedented-injustice-report-on-roberts-court-final.pdf.
• A summary of AFJ's public opinion research is at:
  www.afj.org/about-afj/press/summary_of_hart_research_findings_on_scotus.pdf.