NAN ARON
Aron is president of the Alliance for Justice, which is a national association of public interest and civil rights groups. She said today that decisions by the Supreme Court will affect a wide variety of issues including “workers’ rights, consumer protections, environmental protection, civil rights and women’s rights.”
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ELLEN CHESLER
Chesler is author of the book Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America. She said today: “Current controversy over judicial appointments revolves around the abortion issue, but in fact it is the much broader issue of contraception that is really now at stake in any possible Supreme Court change.” Samuels is guest editor of Ms. magazine.
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THOMAS RUFFIN
Former board member of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, Ruffin is a D.C.-based attorney. He said today: “A central issue for the Supreme Court is government power and the diminution of individual rights in criminal cases, immigration rights and civil rights. … Given that Bush will make an appointment to the court, I expect that the new court will not continue the trend of questioning the death penalty.”

ADAM SACKS
Sacks is director of the Center for Democracy and the Constitution in Lexington, Massachusetts. He said today: “The Supreme Court has granted to corporations rights which exceed those of individuals. As a result, much of our civic space has been privatized. Our downtowns were public space where we would assemble and speak freely. Now, people congregate at malls. Well, since that’s private property, you have no constitutional rights there. In the workplace, you have no constitutional rights, like free speech. These are outcomes of Supreme Court decisions — coming from both ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ justices — which have given artificial corporations more rights than natural persons. Most recently, in the New London case, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses for private economic ‘development.’ The Supreme Court itself is a highly undemocratic institution, nine unelected justices serving for life, and is frequently acting for the benefit of a privileged minority.”
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167