Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Noerr-Pennington doctrine

The principle that the First Amendment shields from liability (esp. under antitrust laws) companies that join together to lobby the government. 0 The doctrine derives from a line of Supreme Court cases beginning with Eastern R.R. Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc., 365 U.S. 127, 81 S.Ct. 523 (1961), and United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657, 85 S.Ct. 1585 (1965).