A DK "Abolish ALEC" Special Report, reposted from Monday...
Last month I began a two part series that began with "ALEC, the Koch Led CABAL & "The Amicus Project" - Fed Court Interference." The first segment dealt with identifying and exposing ALEC's Koch funded cabal interfering with our judicial processes by filing hundreds of "Amicus Briefs" to state and federal courts in pending cases. These were cases involving issues under the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 14th Amendments and other rights - and submitted by numerous cabal members, such as ALEC, Heritage, Heartland, Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Businesses, CATO, Mackinac, etc.
When they file these briefs it is not sufficient to simply join together and file one comprehensive "brief" or argument in support of whatever position the cabal's side is advocating for. No, they file separate briefs making it appear that there is a groundswell of support on the cabal's side of an issue. I described this as the "front door" access the cabal uses in their attempts to influence outcomes in judicial cases involving legislative and related pursuits of the cabal.
This diary will introduce everyone to the cabal's "back door" access to and influence upon state and federal judges through seminars and conferences provided by the cabal members...to in effect "program" judges to rule favorably in key cases. These seminars are used to "educate" our judiciary as to the positions held by corporations and other matters important to businesses and their wealthy owners. These seminars are provided to judges prior to important case reviews...the amicus briefs are "reminders" to the judges of what they "learned" through these seminars that were provided along with luxury vacations paid for by many corporations that may eventually wind up as a party before one or more of these judges.
The seminars take place at truly plush resorts (many of them the same used by ALEC for their annual meetings involving legislators) during all expense trips provided to the judges by a number of Conservative funded organizations; the Foundation for Research on Economics and Environment (FREE Foundation), George Mason University's Law and Economics Center, Northwestern University's Northwestern Law Judicial Education Program, James Madison University's Center for the Constitution at Montpelier and several other, smaller organizations.
These seminars are a way for ALEC's corporate members and contributors to assist the cabal's pursuit of influencing judges to render pro-corporate decisions on important issues and cases. Below the fold I'll provide some of the information, a video from 20/20 and other documents identifying how this entire "system" has been set up, the funders and backers and the impact these maneuvers have had upon our judicial system.
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