Court Rejects Corporate Campaign Spending Limits

Wall Street Journal - The U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider its 2010 Citizens United ruling lifting restrictions on corporate and union political contributions, summarily overturning the Montana Supreme Court in a case involving a Montana state law limiting corporate political spending. In an unsigned decision, the court said "there can be no serious doubt" that the holding in Citizens United v. FEC applies to the Montana state law. "Montana's arguments in support" of the state court ruling "either were already rejected in Citizens United, or fail to meaningfully distinguish that case," the decision said. Four liberal justices dissented from the decision. Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the dissenters, said he would have preferred to reconsider Citizens United or at least its application to the Montana case. He said Montana's experience "casts grave doubt on the Court's supposition that independent expenditures" by corporations and unions "do not corrupt or appear to do so." The majority turned away pleas from the court's liberal justices to give a full hearing to the case because massive campaign spending since the January 2010 ruling has called into question some of its underpinnings. Read More News New Mexico

Court Rejects Corporate Campaign Spending Limits