Straight from our I2M 201O faculty member, Brett Kappell of Arent Fox, his take on the upcoming Citizens United case before the Supreme Court and what it may mean for corporate political decisions.

The Citizens United decision, assuming it ever comes down, could indeed have a profound impact on corporate government relations program. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Austin, both corporations and unions would be able to use money in their general treasury funds to run ads expressly advocating the election or defeat of specific candidates for federal office. At least three members of the Court have already expressed the view that the restrictions on corporate express advocacy are unconstitutional and Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito are believed to be leaning heavily in that direction. But if the Court had five votes to overturn Austin outright, it is surprising that an opinion hasn’t been issued yet. Chief Justice Roberts, who testified before Congress that he was a strong believer in stare decisis, may be reluctant to overturn Austin and McConnell v. FEC, which was decided only six years ago, and is trying to craft a middle ground that would allow more corporate political speech without overturning either case. I think that’s the most likely outcome. It’s also possible that the Court could punt entirely and take one of several procedural outs it has to avoid deciding the constitutional issue altogether.

So we’ll have to wait for an actual decision, but it’s highly likely that the ultimate outcome will provide for more corporate political speech.