Campaign donation limits
Shaun McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
In brief
The Supreme Court overturned the District Court's judgment and sent the case back, while Chief Justice Roberts's opinion found the federal aggregate limits invalid under the First Amendment.
- Where it stands
- Decided
Decided 5-4 · April 2, 2014 · Opinion by Chief Justice Roberts
- What it’s about
- <p> Chief Justice ROBERTS announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice SCALIA, Justice KENNEDY, and Justice ALITO join. </p>
- Who it affects
- The decision found the federal cap on each person's combined campaign contributions over two years invalid under the First Amendment.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The challenged cap was part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
Question presented
Is the two-year aggregate campaign contribution limit constitutional under the First Amendment?
What the Court decided
Holding
The judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded. 893 F. Supp. 2d 133, reversed and remanded. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS, joined by JUSTICE SCALIA, JUSTICE KENNEDY, and JUSTICE ALITO, concluded that the aggregate limits are invalid under the First Amendment.
- Result
- Reversed
The vote
- Joined the judgment
- Concurred in a separate opinion
- Dissented
- Wrote an opinion
- Concurring · 1agreed with the result, wrote separately
- Thomaswrote separately
From the opinions
“The Court held that those limits did not violate the Con stitution.”
What's next
The case returns to the District Court for further proceedings.
Documents
Opinions
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
AI analysis generated: Decision Record
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
Opinion added: McCutcheon
More questions
- What did Justice Breyer say about earlier aggregate-limit cases?
- He cited Buckley v. Valeo, which had upheld aggregate limits as a way to prevent people from evading limits on contributions to individual candidates.
- Why did Justice Thomas agree with the result?
- He said the earlier Buckley v. Valeo decision undervalued core First Amendment speech and should be overturned.
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.