First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
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In First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978), a 5-4 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court held that corporations have a First Amendment right to spend money for or against referenda, which do not relate directly to the corporation's business, in elections.
This decision is considered a precursor to the 5-4 decision in January 2010 that expanded the free speech rights of corporations to make independent expenditures for or against the election of a candidate in Citizens United.
It has been reported that Justice William Brennan was originally assigned to write the majority opinion in Bellotti, but then changed his mind after oral argument and wrote one of the dissents.[1]