Federal Election Commission v. Christine Beaumont et al. (539 U.S. 146)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 16, 2003 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 539 U.S. 146 · 123 S. Ct. 2200
- Decided
- June 16, 2003
- Term
- October Term 2002
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Souter
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the Court. Since 1907, federal law has barred corporations from contributing directly to candidates for federal office. We hold that applying the prohibition to nonprofit advocacy corporations is consistent with the First Amendment. I The current statute makes it unlawful... for any corporation whatever ... to make a contribution or expenditure in connection with” certain federal elections, 90 Stat. 490, as renumbered and amended, 2 U. S. C. § 441b(a), “contribution or expenditure” each being defined to include “anything of value,” § 441b(b)(2). The prohibition does not, however, forbid “the establishment, administration, and solicitation of contributions to a separate segregated fund to be utilized for political purposes.” § 441b(b)(2)(C); see § 431(4)(B). Such a PAC (so called after the political action committee that runs it) may be wholly controlled by the sponsoring corporation, whose employees and stockholders or members generally may be solicited for contributions. See §§ 441b(b)(4)(B)-(C); Federal Election Comm’n v. National Right to Work Comm., 459 U. S. 197, 200, n. 4 (1982). While federal law requires PACs to register and disclose their activities, §§ 432-434; see Federal Election Comm’n v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc., 479 U. S. 238, 253-254 (1986), the law leaves them free to make contributions as well as other…
Excerpt of a 31,488-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.