Are Corporations People? (Radio)

Aired on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Law” on November 26, 2018

Kent Greenfield, a professor at Boston College Law School, discusses his new book, "Corporations Are People Too (And They Should Act Like It)." He speaks with June Grasso on Bloomberg Radio’s "Bloomberg Law."

Corporations Are People Too (And They Should Act Like It), BC Prof Says

Aired on WBUR 90.9 on November 20, 2018

Corporate personhood is actually a long-standing legal principle in this country that dates back to the 19th century. But since the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010, there has been an ongoing debate over what rights corporations should and shouldn't have.

We talk with Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield about the constitutional rights that corporations have already been granted in this country, the rights that are still being debated, and what it all means for the future of our democracy.

Book Review: Corporations Are People Too (and They Should Act Like It)

Published in Publisher’s Weekly

In this dense but worthy analysis, law professor and media commentator Greenfield prescribes a new paradigm for applying constitutional law to corporations, which rejects both the left’s movement to strip corporations’ constitutional protections and the right’s aversion to more rigorous governmental regulation of their activities. In short: if individual citizens can be both protected and regulated by the Constitution, why should corporations, said to have personhood too, have the protections without obligation? Greenfield’s analysis is novel and includes a discussion of controversial Supreme Court decisions related to corporate rights, specifically Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which concerned the religious rights of corporate shareholders, and Citizens United v. FEC, which applied the First Amendment to corporate political contributions. 

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Book Review: Corporations are People Too

Published in Dorf on Law on October 20, 2018

I just finished reading a great new book by Professor Kent Greenfield of Boston College Law School called "Corporations are People Too (And They Should Act Like It)." For anyone interested in what constitutional rights corporations should possess, or in corporate rights and responsibilities generally, this book is a must read. Greenfield is one of the very few law professors in America with a serious background in both constitutional and corporate law, and his double expertise is reflected in almost every chapter of the book.

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There is perhaps no greater or impactful presidential power than the ability to appoint Supreme Court justices, who have the final word on the most controversial issues in the country and get to serve for the rest of their lives, if they choose. Now, President Donald Trump has a second chance to reshape the court, after the man many felt was the lone swing vote — Justice Anthony Kennedy — officially announced his retirement, effective July 31.

What does that mean for the nation's future — for reproductive rights, gay rights, and affirmative action? Jim Braude was joined by Kent Greenfield, a constitutional law professor at Boston College, and David Zimmer, an attorney at Goodwin, who recently won a case before the Supreme Court over deportation proceedings.