(AP) Legal fight over Indiana’s anti-political robocall law ends

A Chicago-based veterans advocacy group’s seven-year struggle to strike down Indiana’s ban on political robocalls has ended after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a lower-court ruling upholding the law.

The Supreme Court on Monday denied Patriotic Veterans Inc.’s bid for review of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ January ruling upholding the law that prohibits sending pre-recorded message calls to telephones without prior consent.

Patriotic Veterans challenged the law in 2010, saying it violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Attorney General Curtis Hill said the law prevents telemarketers from becoming a nuisance.

Patriotic Veterans President Paul Caprio said Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s denial of review could lead to similar legislation in other states. His group now places automated calls in 35 states.