Federal appeals court creates Super PACs by ruling limits on independent political spending unconstitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in SpeechNow.org v. FEC that contribution limits to groups making only independent expenditures violate the First Amendment. The court extended Citizens United logic that independent expenditures cannot corrupt to hold that the government had no anti-corruption interest in capping donations to independent-expenditure-only organizations. This decision gave rise to what became known as Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited sums from individuals, corporations, and unions.