Cases: FEC v. Beaumont: Decisions / Orders

FEC v Beaumont: Supreme Court Decision

On June 16, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court, in FEC v. Beaumont, upheld Federal campaign finance law's longstanding ban on contributions of corporate treasury funds to Federal candidates, as applied to incorporated non-profit advocacy groups. With this decision, it overruled the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which had previously invalidated the corporate political contribution ban with respect to a class of non-profit advocacy groups. The Supreme Court's opinion - adopted by a 7-2 vote - was written by Justice David Souter.

To view a copy of the majority opinion, please click here:

To view a copy of a concurring opinion filed by Justice Anthony Kennedy, please click here:

To view a copy of a dissenting opinion filed by Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, please click here:

FEC v. Beaumont: Court of Appeals Decision

In Beaumont, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the federal law prohibiting corporate and union campaign contributions is unconstitutional when applied to "ideological" nonprofit corporations. The panel relied on the reasoning of the Supreme Court's decision in FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL), in which the Court struck down a ban on campaign-related independent expenditures by such nonprofits. There, the justices held that these groups - as long as they have no shareholders, accept no corporate funding and exist solely for the purpose of advancing a public policy issue, rather than making a profit - could not be prevented from spending their treasury funds on electioneering, including public communications containing "express advocacy" of an election result.

Click here to view the court's opinion in its entirety.