Justices to Review Campaign Finance Law Constraints

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The Supreme Court will consider whether to uphold a ban on corporate spending in federal elections, a move that campaign finance experts said could have a dramatic effect on the 2010 and 2012 federal elections. In a surprise move, the court said it would delay a decision on whether a conservative group's film criticizing then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ran afoul of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act. Instead, the court scheduled a rare September hearing on whether the law itself raised constitutional questions and it said it would reexamine a 1990 decision that said restricting corporations from spending money from their general treasuries to support or oppose political candidates did not violate constitutional guarantees of free speech. "This has the potential to be a blockbuster," said Michael E. Toner, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission. He said the issues have implications for "the whole architecture of the federal campaign financing system." The court said it would withhold its decision about "Hillary: The Movie" until it received briefings this summer about the larger issues. It will hear arguments Sept. 9. The court begins its new term Oct. 5.


Justices to Review Campaign Finance Law Constraints High Court Poised to Rewrite Spending Rules (NYTimes) New Hearings Ordered in Campaign-Finance Case (WSJ) Justices will rehear 'Hillary' movie case (USAToday)