Last week the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a state law intended to punish political candidates for false advertising is an unconstitutional infringement on free speech. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported; "the majority said that under that ruling, only defamatory statements are not constitutionally protected speech, and that the new law did not require proof of the defamatory nature of the prohibited statements. Thus, the current law 'extends to protected political speech and strict scrutiny must apply.'"