Supreme Court hears arguments on lifting restrictions on corporate campaign spending

Supreme Court arguments under way in campaign case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, in a case that arose from a film attacking Hillary Rodham Clinton, wrestled on Wednesday with whether to overturn prohibitions on political campaign spending by corporations and labor unions.

Newly seated Justice Sonia Sotomayor jumped right into the questioning. She appeared skeptical about taking the far-reaching step of lifting the ban, a move urged on the court a by lawyer for a group that made a 90-minute movie seeking to undermine Clinton’s presidential ambitions.

The focus of the case will be on whether two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, are willing to overrule earlier decisions that had upheld the restrictions.

Both justices spoke at length in their Senate confirmation hearings about the importance of abiding by precedents — even if they would have voted the other way had they been involved in an earlier decision.

Justice Stephen Breyer expressed doubts about rolling back the requirements. He suggested that to do so might “make a hash” of campaign finance reforms enacted by Congress in 2002.

“Robust debate … is the most fundamental value” protected by the First Amendment, argued Theodore Olson, the attorney representing Citizens United, the conservative group that made the movie. Olson said the government in this case “has prohibited speech.”