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Reference Library
The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.
Speech & Press
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Decided: 2010
Held that corporate and union political spending is protected speech, barring bans on independent campaign expenditures.
The nonprofit Citizens United was blocked from airing a critical documentary about Hillary Clinton within 30 days of a primary. The Court, 5–4, struck down decades-old restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions, holding that political speech does not lose First Amendment protection because the speaker is a corporation. Citizens United gave rise to Super PACs and unlimited independent political spending, permanently reshaping American campaign finance. It also intensified the tension between the Court's speech doctrine and public perception of the Court itself.