Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts

by Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel, 
National Women's Law Center

The confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court are scheduled to begin on June 28. Supreme Court confirmation hearings are, as we’ve said before, a unique moment when the nation is focused not only on the individual nominated to the Court, but also the Court itself—its decisions, its composition, and the impact it has on the lives of all Americans. It’s a fascinating conversation between the legislative branch and someone who’s about to join the judicial branch—with some Senators using the hearings as an opportunity to send a message to the Executive Branch as well. And the main topic of these hearings are legal issues that we care deeply about.

So with that in mind, we at NWLC have briefly lifted our heads from Box 24 of Ms. Kagan’s Clinton White House documents to reflect on recent Court decisions. Much attention has been paid to the Court’s recent decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C., where a 5-4 majority of the Court ruled that corporations may spend unlimited amounts of money in elections. People are more than a little offended by the fact that the Court treated corporations like people as far as the First Amendment is concerned.