Empirical Study of Legal Education and the Legal Profession, Co-Sponsored by Professional Responsibility

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Session Type: Section Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: Marriott Marquis Washington, DC

Room: Silver Linden

Floor: Second Floor, Mezzanine (One level above Lobby)

This session explores a new book documenting the story of how the First Amendment became an obstacle to campaign finance regulation—a history that began much earlier than most imagine. Americans across party lines believe that public policy is rigged in favor of those who wield big money in elections. Yet, legislators are restricted in addressing these concerns due to a series of Supreme Court decisions that ruled that campaign finance regulations violate the First Amendment. Big Money Unleashed shows that our current impasse is the result of a long-term process involving many players. Naturally, the justices played critical roles—but so did the lawyers who developed the theories necessary to support the legal doctrine, the legal advocacy groups that advanced those arguments, the patrons who financed these efforts, and the networks through which they coordinated strategy and held the Court accountable. Drawing from interviews, public records, and archival materials, Big Money Unleashed chronicles how these groups borrowed a litigation strategy pioneered by the NAACP to dismantle racial segregation and used it to advance a very different type of cause. The panelists will explore these questions and react to Professor Southworth’s newly released book from a wide variety of perspectives.