WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that an anti-abortion group can challenge an Ohio law that bars people from making false statements about political candidates during a campaign.
The decision raises serious doubts about whether the law — and similar measures in more than a dozen other states — can survive amid complaints that they violate free speech rights.
The high court said the Susan B. Anthony List does not have to wait until it is prosecuted under the law to claim its First Amendment rights have been infringed. The court did not directly rule on the constitutionality of the law, but the decision sends the case back to a lower court to consider the question.
Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the existence of the law already has a chilling effect on political speech because people and interest groups have reason to believe their statements may be censured.
Both liberal and conservative groups have criticized the law, saying it stifles the wide-open debate crucial during elections, including negative speech that may sometimes twist the facts. Even Ohio attorney general Mike DeWine declined to defend the law in court, citing constitutional concerns. He sent his deputies to argue for the state instead.
The case began during the 2010 election when the Susan B. Anthony List, planned to put up billboards ads attacking then-Rep. Steve Driehaus. The ads accused Driehaus of supporting taxpayer-funded abortion because he supported President Barack Obama’s new health care law. Driehaus, a Democrat who opposes abortion, claimed the ads misrepresented the true facts and therefore violated the false speech law.
