Buckley v. Valeo

Buckley v. Valeo
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 10, 1975 Decided January 30, 1976
Full case name	James L. Buckley, et al. v. Francis R. Valeo, Secretary of the United States Senate, et al.
Citations	424 U.S. 1 (more) 424 US 1 (1976), 96 S. Ct. 612; 46 L. Ed. 2d 659; 1976 U.S. LEXIS 16; 76-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) P9189
Subsequent history	As amended.
Holding
The Court upheld some federal limits on campaign contributions, but held expenditure limits unconstitutional.
Court membership
Case opinions
Per curiam.
Majority	Per curiam, joined by Brennan, Stewart, Powell; Marshall (in part); Blackmun (in part); Rehnquist (in part); Burger (in part); White (in part).
Concur/dissent	Burger
Concur/dissent	White
Concur/dissent	Marshall
Concur/dissent	Blackmun
Concur/dissent	Rehnquist
Stevens took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I, Article II, Sec. 2, cl. 2

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 US 1 (1976) is a US constitutional law Supreme Court case on campaign finance. A majority of judges held that limits on election spending in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 §608 are unconstitutional. The majority, in a per curiam opinion, contended that expenditure limits contravene the First Amendment provision on freedom of speech because spending money, in the Court's view, is the same as written or verbal expression. It limited disclosure provisions and limited the Federal Election Commission's power. The lead dissenting judgment of Justice Byron White contended that Congress's judgment had legitimately recognized unlimited election spending "as a mortal danger against which effective preventive and curative steps must be taken."

Buckley v. Valeo was extended by the US Supreme Court in further cases, including in the five to four decision of First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti and in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010. The latter held that corporations may spend from their general treasuries during elections. In 2014, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission held that aggregate limits on political giving by an individual are unconstitutional.

In 1974, Congress passed significant amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, creating the most comprehensive effort by the federal government to date to regulate federal campaign contributions and spending. President Gerald Ford signed the bill into law on October 15. The key parts of the amended law did the following: