The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday tossed out a state law that made it illegal to lie in political campaign material, calling it “inconsistent with the fundamental right of free speech.”
In a case brought by the treasurer of a political action committee who was facing jail time for distributing inflammatory campaign fliers targeting a state lawmaker, the state’s highest court ruled that the decades-old law “chills the very exchange of ideas that gives meaning to our electoral system.”
Before last fall’s election, state Representative Brian Mannal, a Barnstable Democrat, filed a criminal complaint against Melissa Lucas, the treasurer of the super PAC that mailed fliers accusing him of putting the interests of sex offenders ahead of families. He called the claims false and intentionally defamatory.
But Lucas and the Jobs First Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee counter-sued, challenging the 1946 state law, which prohibits anyone from publishing a false statement about a political candidate in order to defeat the candidate or impact the outcome of a ballot question. The law carried a jail sentence of up to six months or a $1,000 fine.
In the 31-page decision, the court stated that “the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which the people’s wishes safely can be carried out.”
It continued, “Citizenry, not government, should be the monitor of falseness in the political arena.”Read the rest of the story HERE.
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