WASHINGTON—On news that the U.S. Supreme Court this morning issued its ruling in Jesner, et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC, Constitutional Accountability Center, which filed a brief in the case in support of Jesner, issued the following reaction from CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans:

Today’s ruling is further proof that the Roberts Court is the most pro-corporate Court of the modern era. In yet another 5-4 ruling that bends the law to favor corporations, the Supreme Court held that corporations can never be sued under the Alien Tort Statute, rewriting the statute to allow corporations to commit human rights abuses with impunity. There is real irony in today’s decision. In recent years, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent noted, in cases such as Citizens United and Hobby Lobby, the Roberts Court has rewritten the Constitution and federal laws to give corporations the same rights as individuals. Today’s ruling gives corporations greater rights than individuals and makes it impossible to hold corporations accountable when they violate basic human rights norms.

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Resources:

CAC’s brief in Jesner, et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/jesner-et-al-v-arab-bank-plc/

“Corporate Clout: As The Roberts Court Transforms, The Chamber Has Another Big Term,” July 26, 2017: https://www.theusconstitution.org/think_tank/corporate-clout/

“The Supreme Court’s New Term,” David Gans (discussing Jesner), September 29, 2017: https://www.theusconstitution.org/blog/the-supreme-courts-new-term/

“The Roberts Court Thinks Corporations Have More Rights Than You Do,” David Gans, The New Republic, June 30, 2014: https://newrepublic.com/article/118493/john-roberts-first-amendment-revolution-corporations

“A Capitalist Joker: The Strange Origins, Disturbing Past and Uncertain Future of Corporate Personhood in American Law,” CAC Text & History Narrative, March 20, 2010: https://www.theusconstitution.org/think_tank/a-capitalist-joker-corporations-corporate-personhood-and-the-constitution/

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Now in our tenth year, Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit the new CAC website at www.theusconstitution.org

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