Fletcher v. Commonwealth

Opinion by

The power of the purse is the most potent assignment of power in our Constitution; for it provides the resources upon which all others subsist.1 In this respect the power of the purse is akin to freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment, which is the most fundamental of all rights because freedom of speech is at the means by which all other constitutional rights are exercised.2 For example, the right to exercise one’s religion depends upon the right to speak freely. Likewise, the making of war, imprisoning of society’s miscreants, and adjudicating cases and controversies —…