June 2011
Campaigns Turn to Courts over Political Advertising
Communications Lawyer
Litigation Associate Christine Walz authored a Communications Lawyer article titled "Campaigns Turn to Courts over Political Advertising."
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission has spurred a number of lawsuits that blur the lines between elections and litigation. Generally, government restrictions on political speech are suspect, and courts are reluctant to get involved in political dispute, preferring instead to allow the electorate to make its decisions based on a view of all available information; however, in the wake of Citizens United, courts are frequently being asked to consider cases involving speech in the context of political campaigns. In the article, Ms. Walz discusses recent lawsuits involving political campaigns that have raised a number of First Amendment issues involving copyright law, privacy torts, state election laws, defamation, open records laws and electronic recording statute, demonstrating that Citizens United has inspired a new wave of political warfare using litigation as a weapon.
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission has spurred a number of lawsuits that blur the lines between elections and litigation. Generally, government restrictions on political speech are suspect, and courts are reluctant to get involved in political dispute, preferring instead to allow the electorate to make its decisions based on a view of all available information; however, in the wake of Citizens United, courts are frequently being asked to consider cases involving speech in the context of political campaigns. In the article, Ms. Walz discusses recent lawsuits involving political campaigns that have raised a number of First Amendment issues involving copyright law, privacy torts, state election laws, defamation, open records laws and electronic recording statute, demonstrating that Citizens United has inspired a new wave of political warfare using litigation as a weapon.