U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy granted a temporary injunction sought by Hawaii Right to Life, opening the door for the group to air ads in special elections scheduled for this Saturday and Jan. 4.

The group said it will begin airing ads Wednesday.

While the group contends the new restriction are unconstitutional and prevented it from expressing its views on the elections, it won the injunction by focusing on a narrower issue.

Kennedy agreed with Hawaii Right to Life and ruled it was a "qualified nonprofit group" that by law should be exempt from the government's new political ad restrictions.

In doing so, he concluded the Federal Election Commission's definition for such nonprofit groups was too narrow and wrongly excluded Hawaii Right to Life.

He said the anti-abortion group qualified for the exemption because the group had received at least $50 in corporate contributions.

The judge said the issue of the constitutionality of the new restrictions should be saved "for another day."

The FEC had argued Hawaii Right to Life should be treated as a political issue advocacy group covered by the new advertising limitations.

The ruling is a setback for the FEC's effort to begin implementing the new campaign finance law Congress passed earlier this year. The law, which took effect Nov. 6, puts new limits on political donations and advertising.

The Hawaii elections are to fill a vacancy created by the death of Democratic Rep. Patsy Mink and are the first conducted under the new restrictions.

Hawaii Right to Life hailed the ruling by Kennedy, a Clinton appointee, as a victory for free speech.

"This is an important issue to advocacy groups and their role in the political process," said James Bopp Jr., a lawyer who represented the anti-abortion group.

"It is unbelievable that in America a group that has $8,000 worth in income a year has to come to a federal court to get permission to mention the name of a candidate," he said.

Though it lost, the FEC said the judge's ruling was narrow and noted that other court are considering the broader constitutional issues. "The ruling is not precedential," FEC attorney Stephen Hershkowitz said.

A three-judge panel in Washington is considering several lawsuits that say the new law is unconstitutional and should be overturned. Those suing include the National Right to Life Committee, the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Republican National Committee.

The provision of the new campaign law at issue in the Hawaii case prohibits a range of interest groups from airing political ads that mention federal candidates during periods close to elections.