VOLUME 90

Adam Lamparello

In McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court invalidated aggregate limits on individual contributions to political candidates and committees. Despite the immediate public outcry, Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion was constitutionally defensible, just like Justice Kennedy’s opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The wealthy, like everyone else, are entitled to the full enjoyment of the Constitution’s express and penumbral guarantees.

The problem is that everyone else—including the poor and middle class—also have that right. As a practical matter, however, the Constitution’s written and unwritten rights are alive for the wealthy, merely evolving for the middle class, and on life support for the poor.

Full article available here.