Supreme Speech Victory

June 21 | Posted by mrossol | Losing Freedom, US Constitution

The Left would howl were they wearing the shoe.
=====
June 16, 2014 7:18 p.m. ET

Whatever its mistakes (ObamaCare), the current Supreme Court deserves praise for its willingness to police the growing regulation of political speech. The latest example was Monday’s 9-0 decision allowing the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List to challenge a politician’s claim that it criticized him falsely during an election campaign.

Hard to believe, but an Ohio law lets politicians charge critics with making allegedly false statements. Susan B. Anthony List wanted to put up a billboard in 2010 criticizing Rep. Steve Driehaus for supporting taxpayer-funded abortion by voting for ObamaCare. Mr. Driehaus complained to the billboard company and Ohio Elections Commission. The billboard never went up, Mr. Driehaus lost anyway, but Susan B. Anthony challenged the law as unconstitutional.

Monday’s decision concerned whether Susan B. Anthony was able to sue. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had said it could not because Mr. Driehaus withdrew his complaint after he lost. But Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the Court that this decision improperly minimized the burden on groups whose speech is chilled for fear that they could be sanctioned or sued. Lower courts will now revisit the constitutional challenge.

As it happens, Susan B. Anthony’s billboard claim has been vindicated by the Obama Administration’s rule forcing religious groups to finance abortifacients in their health-care policies for employees. In a democracy, voters rather than a priesthood of regulators are obliged to sort out the truth or falsity of political claims. Congrats to Susan B. Anthony, and perhaps the Sixth Circuit will seek out some remedial First Amendment education.

Supreme Speech Victory – WSJ.

Share

Leave a Reply

Verified by ExactMetrics