The Supreme Court Exerts Its Power on Behalf of Big Business

Making News

Beware of Greeks Bearing Defaults ()

Some 5000 police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters in Athens today as a 48-hour general strike got under way. Parliament is about to vote on tough austerity measures that Greeks oppose but which could be crucial to the EU and US financial systems. Peter Spiegel is Brussels Bureau Chief for the Financial Times.

Guests:

• Peter Spiegel: Financial Times, @SpiegelPeter

Links:

• FT on Christine Lagarde being approved as new IMF head
• EU on Greece

Main Topic

The Supreme Court: Big Business and the First Amendment ()

As the US Supreme Court recessed this week until next October, John Roberts completed his sixth term as Chief Justice of the United States. He continued to lead the court in a conservative direction. The US Chamber of Commerce openly claims more influence with the US Supreme Court than any litigator except the US Solicitor General. Sure enough, big business has been winning 61 percent of its cases. Does it have better lawyers? Are the justices on its side ideologically? They often recognized the free-speech rights of business. Is that because they're dedicated to defending the First Amendment? What did the Wal-Mart case mean for women's employment rights? Why don't Supreme Court justices use the same ethics rules as other federal judges?

Guests:

• Adam Liptak: New York Times, @adamliptak
• Robert Peck: Center for Constitutional Litigation
• Jonathan Adler: Case Western Reserve University
• Nelson Lichtenstein: University of California, Santa Barbara
• Arn Pearson: Common Cause

Links:

• Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court's recent rulings and corporate behavior
• Citizens United v FEC, TtP discussion on
• Liptak on Supreme Court's latest term dominated by First Amendment
• Lichtenstein's 'The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business'
• New York Times on Justice Thomas, fundraising, disclosure
• Common Cause on ethics questions raised by NYT story on Judge Thomas

Reporter's Notebook

The US Plays Its First Game in the Women's World Cup ()

It's been 12 years since the US team won the Women's World Cup. Germany won the next two, and it's both the favorite and the host team in this year's competition, which is comprised of 336 female soccer players in games being televised to 200 nations from a host country that knows how to throw a party. Today, the US just completed its first game, defeating North Korea 2-to-0. Mark Giannotto writes about soccer for the Washington Post.

Guests:

• Mark Giannotto: Washington Post