Citizens United v Federal Election Commission

Question 1

Facts of case

Answer 1

Citizens United sought an injunction against the FEC to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to its film. The Movie expressed opinions about whether Senator Hillary Clinton would make a good president.

Question 2

Holdings and rationale

Answer 2

The majority held that under the 1st Amendment corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The majority maintained that political speech is indispensable to democracy. The speech comes from a corporation. The majority also held that the BCRA’s disclosure requirements as applied to The Movie were constitutional

Question 3

Keywords

Answer 3

In 2010, Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under
the First Amendment.