Hey, Can the pot call the kettle black?
Negative campaigning and mudslinging may be a fact of life in
American politics, but can false accusations made in the heat of an
election be punished as a crime?That debate makes its way to
the Supreme Court next week as the justices consider a challenge to an
Ohio law that bars false statements about political candidates during a
campaign. The case has attracted national attention, with groups across
the political spectrum criticizing the law as a restriction on the First
Amendment right to free speech.
Even Ohio's attorney general, repugican Mike DeWine, says he has serious concerns about the law. His office filed two briefs in the case, one from staff lawyers obligated to defend the state and another expressing DeWine's personal view that the law "may chill constitutionally protected political speech."
"The thing we see time and time again in political campaigns is that candidates use the law to game the system by filing a complaint," DeWine said in an interview with The Associated Press.
In an attempt at humor, satirist P.J. O'Rourke and the libertarian Cato Institute filed a widely circulated brief ridiculing the law and defending political smear tactics as a cornerstone of American democracy.
Even Ohio's attorney general, repugican Mike DeWine, says he has serious concerns about the law. His office filed two briefs in the case, one from staff lawyers obligated to defend the state and another expressing DeWine's personal view that the law "may chill constitutionally protected political speech."
"The thing we see time and time again in political campaigns is that candidates use the law to game the system by filing a complaint," DeWine said in an interview with The Associated Press.
In an attempt at humor, satirist P.J. O'Rourke and the libertarian Cato Institute filed a widely circulated brief ridiculing the law and defending political smear tactics as a cornerstone of American democracy.
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