High Court Rules In Political Spending Case

The U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down limits on corporate po-litical spending in a 5-4 decision. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission overturned a 20-year-old ruling that prohibited corporations from spending general treasury funds to pay for campaign advertisements. The ruling also invalidated a central provision of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act prohibiting unions and corporations from funding issue advertisements at the close of campaign elections. The Court held that the limits on cor-porate spending violate the First Amendment by impermissibly restricting free speech. The case addressed whether a 2008 movie critical of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was subject to Federal Election Commission regulations.

Note: This article was published in the January/February 2010 issue of The Employment Law Authority.