High Court to hear campaign finance case

[Judi Lynn]

High Court to hear campaign finance case
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
16 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Friday to referee a challenge that seeks to undo a key provision of the landmark campaign finance law that the court upheld in 2003.

The justices will hear an appeal of a lower court decision that relaxed restrictions on mentioning candidates by name in issue ads run by corporations, labor unions and other special interest groups during the height of a campaign.

The court's action Friday means the case almost certainly will be argued in April and decided by July, well before the first presidential voting takes place in the Iowa caucuses in January.

Issue ads are those that do not purport to influence an election, but rather focus attention on an issue their sponsors find important. The provision of the so-called McCain-Feingold law that prohibits mentioning a candidate applies in the 60 days before a general election and 30 days before a primary.
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070119/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_campaign_finance