by Bob Lackner

Currently some 16 states, including Colorado, make it a crime to make false statements in political campaigns. In the recently decided case of Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, No. 13-193 (U.S. June 16, 2014), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the ground rules that govern when a person chooses to challenge the constitutionality of one of those laws. The court held that a group may have standing to claim the protections of the First Amendment before being convicted of the crime of issuing false statements during a political campaign if the group that challenges the law is accused of violating the law and is likely to be accused of violating the law again. (more…)