A performance of this play on May 25 was filmed by Bloomington Community Access Television and transferred to DVD.
The play presents the modern-day prosecution of former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Morrison Remick Waite (1874–1888), played by local activist and minister Bill Breeden. Waite presided over the Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific decision (1886) that gave birth to the myth that corporations should be granted the same legal rights as a human being, serving as a legal foundation for the Citizens United ruling in 2010. That decision gives corporations a First Amendment right to “speak” through unlimited monetary contributions to political campaigns.
Through her interview with Judge Waite, the prosecutor, played by actress Gladys DeVane, exposes the true background behind the Santa Clara decision, partly based on materials uncovered at the Library of Congress by former Bloomington Mayor, Tomi Allison, and her husband, Jim Allison, the play’s author. The play is directed by Steve Krahnke.