New York ( CNN ) -- It was the most vivid , and unexpected , confrontation of Wednesday 's State of the Union address . It happened when President Obama said this : `` Last week , the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections . '' In the audience , Justice Samuel Alito , President Bush 's second appointee to the Supreme Court , could be seen shaking his head and saying , it appeared , `` Not true , not true . '' Who 's right ? As for what the court decided in Citizens United v. FEC , Obama seems to be right -- mostly . In a 5-4 decision , written by Justice Anthony Kennedy and joined by Alito , the court held that corporations , labor unions and other organizations had the right under the First Amendment to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the outcomes of elections . If a corporation now wants to saturate the airwaves for or against any candidate for office , including on the eve of the election , it now has the Supreme Court 's say-so to do it . Obama was on shakier ground when he said foreign companies now had the same unlimited rights to participate in our elections . The court 's opinion very carefully said it was not deciding the issue with regard to foreign entities . So the court may yet give the green light to these foreign companies -- but it has n't done so yet . On the larger question of whether Alito should have expressed himself in this restrained but unmistakable way , I 'm with the justice . Attending the State of the Union has always been an awkward duty for the justices -- sitting through these political addresses and wondering when it 's appropriate to applaud or react . Gloves come off after Obama rips ruling . When the president is paying tribute to the armed forces , or making an otherwise uncontroversial point , the justices usually join in the clapping ; when the point is more political -- like the one Obama made about Citizens United on Wednesday -- the tradition is for the justices not to react . But it 's wise to remember that the justices are human beings , with strong views on many subjects , including their own decisions . When Obama was criticizing the court 's work ( as was his right ) , Alito had the right to react the way anyone would who had taken a shot in a high-profile setting . In my book , even a Supreme Court justice -- even at the State of the Union -- is entitled to grimace and mutter . ( It is worth noting that Alito does seem to have an ax to grind with Obama . As a senator , Obama voted against Alito 's confirmation , which the justice does not seem to have forgotten . When the President-elect Obama made a courtesy call on the justices shortly before his inauguration last year , Alito was the only member of the court not to attend . ) Still , it 's worth remembering who is likely to have the last word in this confrontation . In his speech , Obama went on to say about the court 's opinion , `` Well , I do n't think American elections should be bankrolled by America 's most powerful interests , or worse , by foreign entities . They should be decided by the American people , and that 's why I 'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong . '' The president and the Congress can try -- but it is the court that will have the last word on evaluating whether any new law is constitutional . And Alito , who is 59 years old with life tenure , will likely be passing on the validity of laws long after Obama has left office . As Justice Robert Jackson said of the court many years ago , `` We are not final because we are infallible , but we are infallible only because we are final . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeffrey Toobin .
Jeffrey Toobin says a comment by President Obama led to an awkward moment . He says Justice Samuel Alito seemed to disagree on Obama 's take on campaign finance ruling . Toobin says Obama was mostly right on the result of recent court decision . He says Alito also was right to express his view ; justices are human beings .