Bender interviewed about U.S. Supreme Court case ruling

Paul Bender, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, was interviewed on Freethought Radio, a weekly show by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, on May 2.

Bender discussed why he believes the U.S. Supreme Court wrongly decided Arizona Christian Tuition Organization v. Winn, where the Supreme Court denied legal standing to Arizona taxpayers to challenge tax credits that benefit religious schools.

“In the Winn case, the Court decided that taxpayers did not have standing to challenge tax expenditures like deductions, credits and exclusions,” Bender said. “They could only challenge direct appropriations, even though the Court had decided at least five or six very important First Amendment cases brought by taxpayers challenging tax expenditures, like deductions and credits, and Justice Kennedy’s opinion said, ‘well, those decisions are just wrong’.”

To listen to the entire interview, click here.

Bender teaches courses on U.S. and Arizona constitutional law. He has written extensively about constitutional law, intellectual property and Indian law, and is co-author of the two-volume casebook/treatise, Political and Civil Rights in the United States. Bender has argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and actively participates in constitutional litigation in federal and state courts.

Janie Magruder, Jane.Magruder@asu.edu
(480) 727-9052
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law