I thought that McConnell v. FEC was one of the most disappointing O’Conner decisions over her career. It doesn’t seem her opinion on the matter has mellowed:
“Gosh,†she said, “I step away for a couple of years and there’s no telling what’s going to happen.â€
Justice O’Connor criticized the recent decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, only obliquely, reminding the audience that she had been among the authors ofMcConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the 2003 decision that was overruled in large part on Thursday.
“If you want my legal opinion†about Citizens United, Justice O’Connor said, “you can go read†McConnell.
As it is, I agree with O’Conner on the problems of an elected judiciary, which she goes on to discuss in the article, and I am a great admirer of O’Conner’s principled stances on federalism (she was one of the three justice minority in Raich). But I think on this issue, she is very wrong.