Public Campaign attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday morning: “Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court's Recent Rulings Will Affect Corporate Behavior.” The hearing was scheduled in response to the distinct pattern of pro-corporate rulings issued by the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly the Wal-Mart sex discrimination class action suit that wasn’t allowed to proceed.

The hearing began with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT.) emphasizing that the current Supreme Court was the “the most business friendly Supreme Court in the last 75 years.” Senator Whitehouse (D-RI.) concurred pointing out that he had begun to see a clear trend in the rulings issued by the Supreme Court. “If all the Supreme Court rulings are plotted on a graph you would see a ‘corporation-wins’ pattern,” Whitehouse said. He further argued that it was now reasonable to conclude that there was a clear and intentional purpose in the Supreme Court’s rulings to favor corporations to the detriment of individual rights.

Betty Dukes, the Wal-Mart greeter involved in the case, agreed with Whitehouse’s assessment, stating that the Court was “quite conservative in opinion.” and “definitely on the side of corporations.” Professor Alt from the conservative Heritage Foundation disagreed vehemently, calling it a “smear on the Robert’s court.”

A particularly troubling issue was raised by Professor Hart from the Byron White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law. He noted the increasing difficulty and inaccessibility of the justice system to the common citizen. The Supreme Court has steadily been erecting increased barriers to the types of cases it takes, which are serving to change the judicial system by distancing trial juries from the citizenry. Professor Cox from Duke University School of Law pointed out that private litigation is the hallmark of providing justice in America and while Senator Whitehouse weighed in, commenting that corporations already wield disproportionate influence on other branches of government and now the jury system was being corrupted too as part of a “long standing indoctrination” by business interests.

The highlight of the hearing came with Senator Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) grilling of Andrew J. Pincus, a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP. The Senator criticized Pincus for contradicting himself in his testimony, comparing it to statements he made in the New York Times, in which Pincus disparaged class action consumer lawyers. Senator Franken said he had introduced the Arbitration Fairness Act banning companies from having mandatory arbitration in consumer contracts.

The Roberts Court has consistently sided with corporate and special interests, and on Monday, issued another ruling in McComish v. Bennett that will further enhance the role of big money in our politics. It’s no wonder Americans feel a disconnect from their government. Our voices continue to be drowned out by wealthy interests and big money donors. And now they have a Supreme Court more than willing to go along for the ride.