McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
The Court Rules That Aggregate Limits on Campaign Donations Are Unconstitutional
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission was featured in Campaign Fundraising, Supreme Court Debates (Nov. 2013). The following is excerpted from the summary of the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions. In Buckley v. Valeo (1976), this Court evaluated the constitutionality of the original contribution and expenditure limits in Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Buckley distinguished the two types of limits based on the degree to which each encroaches upon protected First Amendment interests. It subjected expenditure limits to “the exacting scrutiny applicable to limitations on core First Amendment rights of political…
