McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
| McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued October 8, 2013 Decided April 2, 2014 |
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| Full case name | Shaun McCutcheon, et al., Appellants v. Federal Election Commission |
| Docket nos. | 12-536 |
| Citations | 572 U.S. ___ (more)
134 S.Ct. 1434
|
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Holding | |
| Aggregate contribution limits to campaign finance are unconstitutional. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Plurality | Roberts, joined by Scalia, Kennedy, Alito |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Dissent | Breyer, joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, 572 U.S. ___ (2014), is a landmark campaign finance decision of the United States Supreme Court. The decision held that Section 441 of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which imposed a limit on contributions an individual can make over a two-year period to national party and federal candidate committees, is unconstitutional.
The case was argued before the Supreme Court on October 8, 2013, being brought on appeal after the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the challenge. It was decided on April 2, 2014, by a 5–4 vote, reversing the decision below and remanding. Justices Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, and Alito invalidated "aggregate contribution limits" (amounts one can contribute over the two-year period) as violating the First Amendment. Justice Thomas provided the necessary fifth vote, but concurred separately in the judgment while arguing that all contribution limits are unconstitutional.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) was first passed in 1971. Amendments to FECA in 1974, after the Watergate Scandal, imposed aggregate limits on the direct contributions that individuals can make to national political parties and federal candidates in a calendar year. The constitutionality of the 1974 FECA amendments were challenged in court, resulting Supreme Court's landmark decision in Buckley v. Valeo. That decision, in a cursory analysis, upheld the aggregate contribution limits. In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) was passed. The BCRA revised the aggregate limits, adjusted them to future (but not past) inflation, and changed the individual limitations from annual to biennial; The aggregate contribution ceiling on individuals during the 2011-2012 election cycle stood at $46,200 for federal candidates and $70,800 for national parties, or a $117,000 aggregate limit.
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