The Potential Impact on Campaign Finance Regulation of SpeechNow.org v. FEC

The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission may augur a sea-change in the law governing campaign finance regulation. This article discusses the statutory and jurisprudential context in which the SpeechNow.org challenge to federal campaign finance laws developed; presents an overview of the decision of the Court of Appeals; and notes the potential implications of the decision for the future case law addressing the intersection of campaign finance law and the First Amendment.