FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life

Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc.
Argued Oct 7, 1986
Decided Dec 15, 1986
Full case name Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc.
Docket nos. 85-701
Citations 479 U.S. 238 (more)
107 S. Ct. 616; 93 L. Ed. 2d 539; 1986 U.S. LEXIS 26
Holding
Massachusetts Citizens for Life violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by distributing flyers asking voters to vote “for life” paid for with treasury funds, however that section of FECA itself violated the First Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr. · John P. Stevens
Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Case opinions
Majority Brennan, joined by Marshall, Powell, Scalia
Concurrence O’Connor
Dissent Rehnquist, joined by White, Blackmun, Stevens
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I

In Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc., 479 U.S. 238 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by distributing flyers asking voters to vote “for life” paid for with treasury funds. However, the court also ruled that the FECA section that required any spending by corporations on political campaigning to be done through political action committees (PACs) was itself a violation of the First Amendment rights of nonprofit political and ideological groups.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wermiel, Stephen (16 Dec 1986). "High Court Overturns Law Requiring Nonprofit Political Groups to Use PACs". Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-05-16 – via ProQuest.
  2. ↑ "Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc". Oyez. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
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