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Constitutional Law Keyed to Farber
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Citation:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310, 130 S.Ct. 876, 175 L.Ed.2d 753 (2010)
InstructorMatthew Steinberg
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 prohibits corporations fro using their general treasury funds to make independent expenditures for speech defined as “electioneering communication” or that for which explicitly advocates for the election or defeat of a candidate. Citizens United produced a 90 minute video essentially urging voters not to vote for Hillary Clinton.
The Court upheld limitations on “electioneering communication” in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003). This holding cited Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) which held that political speech may be banned based on the speaker’s corporate identity. The Supreme Court reconsidered these rulings in light of the present case and Section 441b of the BRCA which issues an outright ban, backed by criminal sanctions, on corporations and/or nonprofits to expressly advocate the election or defeat of candidate or to broadcast electioneering communications within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election. This ban exists notwithstanding the fact that a Political Action Committee created by a corporation can engage in that type of speech.
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