Citizens United Case Goes to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the Citizens United case at the end of February. The court will review the Jan. decision of a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Citizens United v. FEC. The panel in Jan. rejected Citizens United's motion for a preliminary injunction, and in July, the court granted the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) motion for summary judgment on the merits. The group is challenging the federal "electioneering communications" disclosure requirements in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) as applied to its film entitled Hillary: The Movie and its advertisements promoting the film. The law prohibits corporations and nonprofits from airing broadcast ads which refer to a federal candidate 30 days before a primary election; Citizens United is a 501(c)(4). Using the Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC Court decision which exempted genuine issue advocacy from the electioneering communications prohibition, the group argues that the ads should be exempt as constitutionally protected for their discussion of issues. The appeal also challenges the disclosure requirement for broadcast ads. The film was released when Clinton was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. The panel in Jan. said the film was an electioneering communication, "susceptible of no other interpretation than to inform the electorate that Senator Clinton is unfit for office."
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