Are corporations “persons”?  The California Corporations Code answers this question quite directly in Section 18 which defines “person” as including corporations and natural persons.  The Corporate Securities Law of 1968 goes even further – defining “person” to mean an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, a joint venture, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization, a government, or a political subdivision of a government.”   Other codes also include corporations within the definition of “person”.  Evidence Code Section 175, for example, defines a “person” to include a ” firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity”.

For purposes of the Nevada Revised Statutes generally, the term “person” also includes corporation, partnership, association, trust or unincorporated organization.  Unlike the CSL, however, Nevada does not count a government, governmental agency or political subdivision of a government as a person.  NRS 0.039.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 130 S.Ct. 876 (2010) has generated a great sturm und drang over the question of whether corporations are people. The case, however, didn’t deal with the broad question of whether a corporation was a person.  Rather, the court was concerned about the application of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to corporations.  The amendment itself doesn’t even use the word “person”.  Rather, it prohibits Congress from making laws “abridging the freedom of speech”.

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