Ina series of 5 to 4 rulings, a majority on the United States Supreme Court effectivelyhas rewritten the law to favor big business at the expense of the Americanpeople, according to a new documentary. UnequalJustice: The Relentless Rise of the 1% Court, produced by Alliance forJustice (AFJ), was released online Monday.
“Today,as the Supreme Court begins a new term, the court will be ‘open for business,”said AFJ President Nan Aron. “The termis already packed with cases with the potential to restrict corporateaccountability and limit everyday Americans’ civil rights and access to justice The Court’s decisions this term could have harmfulconsequences for the ability of consumers, victims of discrimination, andothers to get a fair day in court.
“Butno one should be surprised,” Aron said. “Whatwe are likely to see in the term that begins today was decades in the making.”
Unequal Justice chronicles a 40-year campaign bycorporate special interests to put the thumb of big business on the scales ofjustice. The campaign has its origins ina profoundly-influential memo written in 1971 by corporate lawyer Lewis Powell,just months before he himself was named to the court by President RichardNixon. The memo urged the businesscommunity to fight what was then a burgeoning consumer and environmentalmovement.
“There has been much attention inrecent months to the way the executive and the legislative branches stacked the deck in favor of ‘the one percent’ andagainst the rest of us,” Aron said. “Butthere’s been far too little attention paid to the success of big business ininfluencing the Supreme Court. With a presidentialelection just weeks away, it’s time to pay attention to the decisions apresident makes that often have the most lasting consequences – his nomineeswho will be appointed to the nation’s highest court.”
Said Aron:“We produced this video because we want to highlight the importance ofthe Supreme Court in the lives of everyday Americans and to spur a renewedsense of activism to hold the Court accountable for its actions.”
To learnmore about the issues discussed in Unequal Justice and to find out about hosting a screening, goto www.unequaljustice.org And read AFJ President Nan Aron’s call to actionin The Nation.
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