For Immediate Release
Contact: Matt Lehrich, Marie Aberger
NEW STUDY: THE SUPREME COURT HAS UNDERMINED IOWA’S SMALL FARMS AND
RURAL COMMUNITIES
The study, co-authored by Former Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge, analyzes how court decisions consistently favor corporate interests over those of small farmers
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 21, 2019) —
A new study released today by Take Back the Courts, co-authored by former Iowa Lt. Governor and Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge, shows how the Supreme Court has consistently undermined Iowa’s small farms and rural communities. The study analyzes the series of Supreme Court and lower federal court decisions that favor corporate interests over those of small farmers.
Throughout the United States, and particularly in the Midwest, small farms and rural communities have been devastated over the past generation. In Iowa, for example, farm earnings per job decreased 53 percent since 2012, and thousands of farm jobs have been replaced by wage jobs. While there is much attention paid to the challenges of technological advances, corporate consolidation, and government policy, there has been little attention on the extensive role that federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have played in rural America’s demise.
In 1921, Congress passed the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) to protect small farms and rural communities. For half a century, the PSA worked well as long as federal courts allowed it to operate as Congress intended. But beginning in the 1970s and continuing until now, the Supreme Court and lower federal courts have worked to subvert the PSA. They have consistently allowed large corporations to achieve monopoly control and failed to protect small farmers from unfair trade practices and unfair contracts.
Former Iowa Lt. Governor and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge said: “Courts have effectively dismantled the most significant protections that Congress enacted to protect small farmers, with disastrous results for Iowa’s farmers. Because of the demise of these protections, corporations have been able to seize monopoly control over agricultural markets.”
Since 2005, when John Roberts became Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has issued 73 split-decision rulings in which GOP donors had a clear interest, and the Court voted in the direction favored by GOP donors 73 times, for a record of 73-0. While only a small minority of the 73 rulings involved agriculture, 32 of the cases advanced the interests of corporations. Agribusiness is a major GOP donor that contributes far more to Republican and conservative candidates and organizations than to Democrats and liberals, and the industry would have a clear interest in the outcome of any cases involving rural revitalization. For that reason alone, the Court is expected to be hostile to rural revitalization.
After reviewing the study, a group of key leaders in Iowa sent a letter to all presidential candidates urging them to read the full report, calling it a “must-read.” The signers include: Aaron Lehman, President, Iowa Farmers Union; John Norris, Partner, State Public Policy Group; Tim Gannon, 2018 Democratic Candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture; and Kurt Meyer, Chair of the Tri-County Democrats of Iowa. They write, “Agriculture is not the only industry in which the Supreme Court has sided, time and again, with big business against the interests of workers and everyday Americans, but it is a particularly glaring example of what happens when courts favor the rich and powerful over everyday citizens.”
Take Back the Court Executive Director Aaron Belkin said, “Seeking the critical support of Iowans ahead of the February 3rd caucuses, 2020 presidential candidates have proposed rural revitalization plans to deconsolidate agricultural markets and strengthen small farms and local communities. But as with the rest of their bold plans, progress is not realistic without a plan for the Supreme Court. Otherwise, the Supreme Court is likely to strike down rural revitalization plans on the basis of implausible constitutional and legal doctrines, consistent with its record of voting in the direction favored by GOP donors and by large corporations.”
Read the full study HERE.
About Take Back the Court
Take Back the Court raises awareness about the urgent need to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court to address the theft of the court by Senator Mitch McConnell during the Obama Administration. Without adding seats, Congress will not be able to restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency, or pass new legislation. Court expansion, which can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment, is the only reform that enables the un-rigging of the system and the restoration of democracy. Learn more at https://www.takebackthecourt.today.
Patty Judge was Iowa Lt. Governor and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and serves currently as Co-Chair of Focus On Rural America.