Supreme Court: Upholding Free Political Speech

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

Questions about free speech and the First Amendment are often decided at the Supreme Court. Over the years, the Court has dealt with such contentious political speech cases as flag burning, campaign spending limits, and banning political films. While there is typically some disagreement on the Court on any individual case, the Court has long held that for any political…

McCutcheon Decision — When?

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January 23, 2014   •  By David Keating   •  

Someone emailed me to ask when The Supreme Court might rule in the McCutcheon case.  Of course, no one knows. However, we can guess. ...

The Last Rites of Public Campaign Financing?

January 1, 2014   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett, this Nebraska Law Review article by Hofstra University Law ...

Separation of Campaign and State

November 1, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

In a pair of recent decisions, Davis v. FEC and Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, the Supreme Court has struck down on ...

Dynamic Duo: Self-Righteous Paternalism Edition

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October 2, 2013   •  By Luke Wachob   •  

Tuesday morning, Trevor Potter of the Campaign Legal Center and Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 held an event at the National Press Club in ...

The Right to “Do Politics” and Not Just to Speak: Thinking About the Constitutional Protections for Political Action

April 26, 2013   •  By Matt Nese   •  ,

For a half century, campaign finance jurisprudence has turned on the Supreme Court’s distinction between political contributions and campaign expenditures. In Buckley v. Valeo, 1 the Court ...

Supreme Court not Considering Campaign Finance Case Friday

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January 3, 2013   •  By Sarah Lee   •  

UPDATE: The US Supreme Court today announced it will not review the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ...

The Varieties of Corruption and the Problem of Appearance: A Response to Professor Samaha

May 18, 2012   •  By Luke Wachob   •  

Neither the same as actual corruption nor well defined in its own right, the “appearance of corruption” as a basis for campaign finance regulation is suspect ...

FEC Comments March 7th, 2012

March 8, 2012   •  By Joe Trotter   •  , , ,

CCP submitted comments to the FEC regarding the Citizens United decision. 

Don’t Feed the Alligators: Government Funding of Political Speech and the Unyielding Vigilance of the First Amendment

September 21, 2011   •  By Joe Trotter   •  , , ,

‘Every dollar I spend over the threshold starts feeding the alligator trying to eat me.’’ That was the description of Arizona’s system for public financing of political ...

So What if Corporations Aren’t People?

June 1, 2011   •  By Luke Wachob   •  , ,

Corporate participation in public discourse has long been a controversial issue, one that was reignited by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Much ...

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