Strike Ohio’s law on telling lies

Los Angeles Times: Lying by and about politicians is a regrettable and probably permanent feature of American democracy. But should it also be a criminal offense?

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an argument by an antiabortion group challenging an Ohio law that criminalizes false statements about candidates for public office. The justices should allow the group’s claim to proceed. Using criminal law to police truth in political debate is unnecessary and invites abuse.

The Ohio law prohibits false statements about a candidate if they are made knowingly or with reckless disregard of whether they might be false. During the 2010 election campaign, the Susan B. Anthony List, an antiabortion political action committee, planned to post an ad on billboards accusing then-Rep. Steven Driehaus, D-Ohio, of voting “for taxpayer-funded abortion” when he supported the Affordable Care Act.

Driehaus filed a complaint with the commission under the false statement law, and fearing legal reprisals, the advertising company refused to post the ad.

Claims by and about candidates are best tested in the back-and-forth of a political campaign, in journalistic fact-checking and, if worse comes to worst, in a civil libel trial, not in a criminal trial.