Newberry v. U.S.
| Newberry v. United States | |
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| Argued January 7, 10, 1921 Decided May 2, 1921 |
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| Full case name | Newberry, et al. v. United States |
| Citations | 256 U.S. 232 (more)
41 S. Ct. 469; 65 L. Ed. 913; 1921 U.S. LEXIS 1632
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| Prior history | Error to the District Count of the U.S. for the Western District of Michigan |
| Holding | |
| Authority to control party primaries or conventions for designating candidates not bestowed on Congress by U.S. Constitution. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | McReynolds, joined by Brandeis, Clarke, Day, Holmes, Van Devanter |
| Concurrence | McKenna, Pitney (in part, Brandeis and White concurring in part), White (in part) |
| Dissent | White (in part) |
| Laws applied | |
| Federal Corrupt Practices Act; 1913 Mich. Pub. Acts 109, Sec. 1; U.S. Const. Art. I, Sec. 4; U.S. Const., 17th Amend. | |
Newberry v. United States, 256 U.S. 232 (1921) is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that the United States Constitution did not grant the United States Congress the authority to regulate political party primaries or nomination processes. The court struck down 1911 amendments to the Federal Corrupt Practices Act which placed spending limits on candidate and political election committee spending in primaries or other nomination processes for federal office.
With a shift in public opinion for pro-campaign finance reform legislation during the Progressive era, congress enacted the Tillman Act in 1907, which banned direct corporate financing of political campaigns. This was followed with the enactment of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1910, which was amended in 1911; providing two limitations on expenditures in federal elections. The first was that no candidate for Congress shall, in procuring his nomination and election, spend any sum in excess of the amount provided for by state law. The second was that no candidate for the United States House of Representatives shall spend more than $5,000 in any campaign for nomination and election, and that no candidate for United States Senate shall spend more than $10,000 in any campaign for his nomination and election.
Michigan law (Act No. 109, § 1, 1913) prohibited candidates for federal office from expending more than 25 percent of his anticipated federal salary for the purposes of securing his nomination, and another 25 percent of his anticipated federal salary on the general election. At the time, this amounted to about $3,750 in each phase of the electoral process.
Truman Handy Newberry was a Michigan businessman and former Secretary of the Navy who decided to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 1918. His primary opponent was Henry Ford, the legendary automobile manufacturer. The primary was hotly contested, and Newberry was alleged to have spent upwards of $100,000 on his nomination race. Newberry defeated Ford, and went on to win the general election. Ford challenged Newberry and used his federal connections to win an investigation by Congress and the United States Department of Justice. Newberry was tried in 1921 and convicted.
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