States back Montana in Citizens United campaign finance fight.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Nearly half of US states have thrown their weight behind a legal defence of local laws restricting corporate money in politics by asking the supreme court to revisit its widely-criticised ban on similar national legislation.

The states filed a brief with the supreme court on Monday in support of a century-old law in Montana -- the Corrupt Practices Act -- against companies pumping money into elections.

The law was struck down by a Montana court following the US supreme court ruling two years ago in the Citizens United case, which lifted most restrictions on corporations spending money on political advertising. However, the Montana supreme court has since upheld the state law, putting it in conflict with the …