Elections & terms
Citizens United v. FEC
The 2010 decision holding that the government may not ban independent political spending by corporations and unions, treating such spending as protected speech.
In full
The Court reasoned that independent expenditures do not give rise to corruption or its appearance, so restricting them fails First Amendment scrutiny. It left contribution limits and disclosure requirements intact, and eight Justices upheld disclosure. The decision, with SpeechNow.org in the D.C. Circuit, produced the super PAC.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.