WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
After Driehaus
filed a formal complaint, the billboard owner feared legal action and
declined to post the ads. The Ohio Elections Commission found probable
cause that the ads violated the law, but Driehaus later dropped the case
after losing his re-election bid.
When the Susan B. Anthony List
challenged the state law as unconstitutional, a federal judge said the
group didn’t have the right to sue because the case was withdrawn and it
hadn’t suffered actual harm. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati agreed.
In reversing the lower courts, Thomas said the
Susan B. Anthony List intends to make the same statements in future
elections. That means the speech will remain prohibited under the Ohio
false statement law.
"There is every reason to think that similar
speech in the future will result in similar proceedings, notwithstanding
SBA’s belief in the truth of its allegations," Thomas said.
Thomas
said the threat of commission proceedings is like arrest or prosecution
in that it "may give rise to harm sufficient to justify pre-enforcement
review."
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the group would move quickly to try to have
the law tossed out.
"The truth or falsity of political speech should be judged by voters, not government
bureaucrats," she said.
The
group already plans to put up similar billboard ads in opposition to
Democratic U.S. senators in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina;
those states have similar laws banning false campaign speech.
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney described the high court ruling as "unanimous and significant."

"As
the matter now proceeds in the lower courts, the Ohio Attorney
General’s Office has a duty and will continue to defend the
constitutionality of the statute." Tierney said. "Attorney General
DeWine will also continue to make the courts aware of his significant
First Amendment concerns on this issue."
Other states with similar
laws include Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia
and Wisconsin.
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Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report.