Supreme Court becoming a tool for corporate interests!
Court now sides with Chamber of Commerce two-thirds of the time.
WASHINGTON - December 19, 2010 - Those who have been arguing that the Supreme Court is growing more friendly to corporate interests while becoming less friendly to everyone else will now have statistical ammunition for their arguments.
A study has found that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has undergone a fundamental shift in its outlook, ruling in favor of businesses much more often than previous courts.
According to the Northwestern University study, commissioned for The New York Times, the Roberts court has sided with business interests in 61% of relevant cases, compared to 46% in the last five years of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who passed away in 2005.
The study notes the Rehnquist court itself was considerably more pro-business than earlier courts.
Meanwhile, a second study, from the Constitutional Accountability Center, has charted the growing influence of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the courts. The chamber started filing amicus briefs with the top court three decades ago in an effort to prompt more business-friendly rulings.
According to the study, the Roberts Supreme Court has sided with the Chamber 68% of the time, up from 56% under the Rehnquist court, and noticeably higher than the 43% during the relevant part of Chief Justice Warren Burger's court, which ended in 1986.
