Supreme Court Strikes Down Mont. Campaign Finance Law

Also, rules life in prison out of bounds for kids
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 25, 2012 10:23 AM CDT
Supreme Court Strikes Down Mont. Campaign Finance Law
Protestors take part in a demonstration outside of the Supreme Court calling for a reversal of the 2010 Citizens United decision February 23, 2012 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.   (Getty Images)

The US Supreme Court today struck down a Montana campaign finance law that would have allowed states to curb the impact of the court's earlier Citizens United ruling. In a 5-4 vote along the court's usual ideological divide, the court issued a summary reversal, ignoring liberal justices' calls for a full hearing on the case, which they had hoped would allow the court to reconsider and perhaps overturn United in light of the massive spending that's occurred since, the AP reports.

  • There was one other major ruling today: The court voted 5-4 that it was unconstitutional to send juveniles to prison for life without the possibility of parole. Justice Alito took the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench, according to SCOTUSBlog, something usually done only in closely divided cases about which one justice feels strongly.
  • There was no word on the most hotly anticipated case on the court's plate—President Obama's health care law. The court will announce that one Thursday, on the final day of its session
(More US Supreme Court stories.)

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