Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Corporations Treated As Individuals

The status of the corporation as a legal person has been considered valid, going back to Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819.

Equal protection laws always applied to corporations in the past. There are questions which occasionally arise. In fact, they occurred recently during the nomination and approval of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor.

In a hearing prior to her approval, Justice Sotomayor remarked about corporations not being people. However the Supreme Court has always held that corporations held broad First Amendment rights, as do individuals.

Should her stance become the view of future Supreme Court rulings, the entire basic commercial structure of this country could be overturned.

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