Ohio law prohibiting politicians from lying ruled unconstitutional

A 42-year-old Ohio law that banned politicians and independent political groups from knowingly or recklessly lying in campaigns was struck down by an Ohio appeals court today, saying that the law infringed on First Amendment rights to political free speech.

“Ohio’s political false-statements laws are content-based restrictions targeting core political speech that are not narrowly tailored to serve the state’s admittedly compelling interest in conducting fair elections,” the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

It is a strange day when a law supporting a “compelling interest in conducting fair elections” is ruled unconstitutional, but what can you do?

The case began when political group Susan B. Anthony List planned on accusing then-U.S. Representative Steve Dreihaus of supporting abortion on a billboard, even though he did not. Though the billboard did not go up due the owner fearing a lawsuit, the ruling means that similar political speech is now legal.

 

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