Lawline.com faculty member Steven Simpson was recently featured in several news articles regarding his lawsuit challenging Florida’s campaign finance laws in Andrew Nathan Worley, et al. v. Dawn K. Roberts, et al.  To read more about this case, see the article published by the West Palm Beach Examiner titled "Libertarian Law Firm Going After Florida's Campaign Finance Laws." In Worley, Simpson filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of plaintiffs challenging the state’s restrictions on campaign funding as a violation of their First Amendment free speech rights.  In order to speak out about political issues, citizens of Florida and 23 other states must register as political committees and navigate complex regulations.  Simpson is quoted as saying “It turns out that in America, you need more than an opinion to speak out about politics.  Today, you also need a lawyer.”  Simpson and his organization, the Institute of Justice, were also featured in the news earlier this year regarding the high profile campaign finance law case, Citizens United v. FEC. For more information on this case, see the article from the NationalJournal.com titled "Citizens United Fallout Already Being Felt." 

In Citizens United, the Supreme Court held under the First Amendment, that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections could not be limited.  This close decision (5-4) resulted from the dispute over whether the nonprofit organization Citizens United could broadcast a film on cable television which argued that Hillary Clinton was unfit for high office.  Ultimately, the Court held that Citizens United should have been able to broadcast the program.  In his recent course with Lawline.com, The Impact of Citizens United v. FEC, Simpson reviews the case in great detail, and provides a comprehensive overview of the history of campaign finance laws and his predictions for the future. This hot button political issue was also featured today in the Huffington Post, in an article titled Citizens United-Game Changer in which the author argues that President Obama’s predictions that the Citizens United decision would unleash a torrent of corrupt corporate money into our political system has come true. Watch Simpson’s course to better understand this landmark decision, and make your own determination of whether or not states should be able to restrict a group of individuals’ campaign funding choices, or if such limitations violate their First Amendment rights.

To watch Steven Simpson's course on Citizens United v. the FEC, click here