The Montana Court vigorously upheld the state\u2019s right to regulate how corporations can raise and spend money after a secretive Colorado corporation, Western Tradition Partnership, and a Montana sportsman\u2019s group and local businessman sued to overturn a 1912 state law banning direct corporate spending on electoral campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganizations like WTP that act as a conduit for anonymously spending by others represent a threat to the political marketplace,\u201d wrote Mike McGrath, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, for the majority. \u201cClearly the impact of unlimited corporate donations creates a dominating impact on the political process and inevitably minimizes the impact of individual citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 80-page ruling is remarkable in many respects. Throughout, including in a lengthy dissent by a state Supreme Court justice who felt Montana was dutibound to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the Montana Court attacked the thinking behind the Citizens United decision and the impact of big money in political culture, including the notion that corporations are deserving of the same political speech rights as citizens.<\/p>\n