Davis v. FEC (554 U.S. 724)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 26, 2008 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 554 U.S. 724 · 128 S. Ct. 2759
- Decided
- June 26, 2008
- Term
- October Term 2007
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Alito
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
- Constitutional ruling
- Federal law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court. In this appeal, we consider the constitutionality of federal election law provisions that, under certain circumstances, impose different campaign contribution limits on candidates competing for the same congressional seat. I A Federal law limits the amount of money that a candidate for the House of Representatives and the candidate’s authorized committee may receive from an individual, as well as the amount that the candidate’s party may devote to coordinated campaign expenditures. 2 U. S. C. § 441a (2006 ed.). Under the usual circumstances, the same restrictions apply to all the competitors for a seat and their authorized committees. Contributions from individual donors during a 2-year election cycle are subject to a cap, which is currently set at $2,300. See §§ 441a(a)(1)(A), (c); 72 Fed. Reg. 5295 (2007). In addition, no funds may be accepted from an individual whose aggregate contributions to candidates and their committees during the election cycle have reached the legal limit, currently $42,700. See 2 U. S. C. §§ 441a(a)(3)(A), (c); 72 Fed. Reg. 5295. A candidate also may not accept general election coordinated expenditures by national or state political party committees that exceed an imposed limit. See 2 U. S. C. §§ 441a(c), (d). Currently, the limit for candidates in States with more than one House seat is $40,900. 72…
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