Freedom Line Blog

Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will rehear arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, a case that could reverse certain limitations on core political speech imposed by the the 2002 McCain-Feingold law and other chilling precedents.

In an op-ed published today on Human Events Online, CFIF director of public policy Sam Batkins writes:

Citizens United is the first of three cases in which interested court-watchers will have their first opportunity to observe [newly confirmed] Justice Sotomayor and get a better idea of her impact on the jurisprudential leaning of the Court.

In addition to Citizens United, the Court, including Justice Sotomayor, is scheduled to hear other high-profile cases after its term formally begins in October on issues dealing with the Establishment Clause and property rights, among others.

As Batkins notes:

Many court-watchers and scholars have reviewed Justice Sotomayor’s lengthy record as a lower court judge without really being able to predict her judicial philosophy on many of the hot-button issues before the Supreme Court. Soon, however, we’ll all be provided more clarity, at least on issues dealing with property rights, the establishment clause and political speech. 

Read the the entire op-ed here.