Judge: Corporate donations ban unconstitutional

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Judge: Corporate donations ban unconstitutional
Posted 17m ago

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge has ruled that the campaign-finance law banning corporations from making contributions to federal candidates is unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision last year in his analysis.

In a ruling issued late Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Cacheris tossed out part of an indictment against two men accused of illegally reimbursing donors to Hillary Clinton's Senate and presidential campaigns.

Cacheris says that under the Citizens United decision, corporations enjoy the same rights as individuals to contribute to campaigns.

The ruling from the federal judge in Virginia is the first of its kind. The Citizens United case had applied only to corporate spending on campaigning by independent groups, like ads run by third parties to favor one side, not to direct contributions to the candidates themselves.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2011-05-27-corporate-contributions-campaigns_n.htm