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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
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A quick definition of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010):
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a court case that says the government can't stop groups like corporations or unions from spending money on political campaigns. Before this case, a law called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act said that corporations and unions couldn't use their money to support or oppose a candidate for office. But the Supreme Court said that this law went against the First Amendment, which protects free speech. Some people think this decision lets big companies have too much influence in elections.A more thorough explanation:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a Supreme Court case from 2010 that ruled that the First Amendment's free speech clause prohibits the government from limiting independent expenditures on political campaigns by groups such as corporations or labor unions. This means that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns as long as they do not coordinate with candidates or political parties.
For example, in 2012, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, Restore Our Future, spent over $142 million on ads and other campaign activities. This was made possible by the Citizens United ruling.
The case was controversial because some people believe that allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns gives them too much influence over the political process. Others argue that limiting their spending would violate their First Amendment rights to free speech.