Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/470/480/case.php
Timestamp: 2019-10-19 12:05:06
Document Index: 95701590

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 9001', '§ 9012', '§ 9011', '§ 437', '§ 9010', '§ 9011', '§ 9011', '§ 441', '§ 441', '§ 9012', '§ 9012', '§ 9012', '§ 9011', '§ 437', '§ 9011', '§ 9011', '§ 437', '§ 9011', '§ 441', '§ 9012', '§ 9012', '§ 9012', '§ 9012']

The Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act (Fund Act), 26 U.S.C. § 9001 et seq., offers the Presidential candidates of major political parties the option of receiving public financing for their general election campaigns. If a Presidential candidate elects public financing, § 9012(f) makes it a criminal offense for independent "political committees," such as appellees National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) and Fund For A Conservative Majority (FCM), to expend more than $1,000 to further that candidate's election. A three-judge District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in companion lawsuits brought respectively by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and by the Democratic Party of the United States and the Democratic National chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In June, 1983, the FEC brought a separate action against the same defendants seeking identical declaratory relief. It was referred to the same three-judge District Court, which consolidated the two cases for all purposes. The parties submitted 201 stipulations and three books of exhibits as chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
We do not doubt, nor do any of the parties in these cases challenge, the standing of the FEC, which is specifically identified in § 9011(b)(1), to bring a declaratory action to test the constitutionality of a provision of the Fund Act. We think such an action is "appropriate" within the meaning of that section, because a favorable declaration would materially advance the FEC's ability to expedite its enforcement of the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Though McCulloch, supra, is authority on its somewhat different facts for finessing a decision as to questions of "jurisdiction" in one of two companion cases raising the same substantive issues, we decline to follow that course here. The statutory standing issue is squarely presented by the Democrats' appeal, and, if the FEC is correct in its assertion as to lack of standing, the decision of the District Court could seriously interfere with the agency's exclusive jurisdiction to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This scheme seems simple enough. Title 2 U.S.C. § 437c(b)(1) provides that the FEC "shall administer, seek to obtain compliance with, and formulate policy with respect to" the Fund Act, and confers on the FEC "exclusive jurisdiction with respect to the civil enforcement of" the Act. Title 26 U.S.C. § 9010(a) authorizes the FEC "to appear in and defend against any action filed under section 9011." Reading these two provisions together with § 9011, "appropriate" actions chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This interpretation makes a good deal of sense. Suits to construe the Fund Act and to bring about implementation of the Act -- presumably implementation by the FEC, which has exclusive authority to administer and enforce the Act -- raise issues that are likely to be of great importance, and, in Congress' judgment, justify a three-judge court, expedited review, and direct appeal to this Court. Ordinary enforcement actions to obtain compliance with the terms of the Act after they have been construed and implemented would not justify such extraordinary procedures. Moreover, it seems highly dubious that Congress intended every one of the millions of eligible voters in this country to have the power to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Alternatively, the DNC or an individual voter could sue the FEC under 26 U.S.C. § 9011(b) to implement or construe the Act. This avenue, of course, is available to the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In view of our conclusion that the Democrats lack standing under the statute, there is no need to reach the Art. III issue chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Both NCPAC and FCM are self-described ideological organizations with a conservative political philosophy. They solicited funds in support of President Reagan's 1980 campaign, and they spent money on such means as radio and television advertisements to encourage voters to elect him President. On the record before us, these expenditures were "independent" in that they were not made at the request of or in coordination with the official Reagan election campaign committee or any of its agents. Indeed, there are indications that the efforts of these organizations were at times viewed with disfavor by the official campaign as counterproductive to its chosen strategy. NCPAC and FCM expressed their intention to conduct similar activities in support of President chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
are considered "contributions" under the FECA, 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(7)(B)(i), and as such are already subject to FECA's $1,000 and $5,000 limitations in §§ 441a(a)(1), (2). Also, as noted above, one of the requirements for public funding is the candidate's agreement not to accept such contributions. Under the PACs' construction, § 9012(f) would be wholly superfluous, and we find no support for that construction in the legislative history. We conclude that the PACs' independent expenditures at issue in this case are squarely prohibited by § 9012(f), and we proceed to consider whether that prohibition violates the First Amendment. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
but only the amount it may contribute to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Our decision in FEC v. National Right to Work Committee, 459 U. S. 197 (1982) (NRWC), is not to the contrary. That case turned on the special treatment historically accorded corporations. In return for the special advantages that the State confers on the corporate form, individuals acting jointly through corporations forgo some of the rights they have as individuals. Id. at 459 U. S. 209-210. We held in NRWC that a rather intricate provision of the FECA dealing with the prohibition of corporate campaign contributions to political candidates did not violate the First Amendment. The prohibition excepted corporate solicitation of contributions to a segregated fund established for the purpose of contributing to candidates, but in turn limited such solicitations to stockholders or members of a corporation without capital stock. We upheld this limitation on solicitation of contributions as applied to the National Right to Work Committee, a corporation without capital stock, in view of the well-established constitutional validity of legislative regulation of corporate contributions to candidates for public office. NRWC is consistent with this Court's earlier holding that a corporation's chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
We held in Buckley and reaffirmed in Citizens Against Rent Control that preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption are the only legitimate and compelling government chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
We think the same conclusion must follow here. It is contended that, because the PACs may, by the breadth of their organizations, spend larger amounts than the individuals in chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Several reasons suggest that we are not free to adopt a limiting construction that might isolate wealthy PACs, even if such a construction might save the statute. First, Congress plainly intended to prohibit just what § 9012(f) prohibits -- independent expenditures over $1,000 by all political committees, large and small. Even if it did not intend to cover small neighborhood groups, there is also no evidence in the statute or the legislative history that it would have looked chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In the District Court, the FEC attempted to show actual corruption or the appearance of corruption by offering evidence of high-level appointments in the Reagan administration of persons connected with the PACs and newspaper articles and polls purportedly showing a public perception of corruption. The District Court excluded most of the proffered evidence as irrelevant to the critical elements to be proved: corruption of candidates or public perception of corruption of candidates. A tendency to demonstrate distrust of PACs is not sufficient. We think the District Court's finding that "the evidence supporting an adjudicative finding of corruption or its appearance is evanescent," 587 F.Supp. at 830, was clearly within its discretion, and we will not disturb it here. If the matter offered by the FEC in the District Court be treated as addressed to what the District Court chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
While in NRWC we held that the compelling governmental interest in preventing corruption supported the restriction chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
As I read it, the plain language of 26 U.S.C. § 9011(b)(1) confers standing on the Democratic National Committee. The fact that the Federal Election Commission also has standing is not, in my opinion, a sufficient reason for concluding that it was not appropriate for DNC to commence this action regardless of whether or not the FEC elected to participate. This, however, is just my tentative opinion, because it really is not necessary to decide the issue discussed in 470 U. S. 16 (1963).
Accordingly, I join only Part II of the Court's opinion. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The majority exalts the requirement of appropriateness by ignoring the term's context. Section 9011(b)(1) does not impose a free-floating requirement that any action brought thereunder meet some undefined standard of sound policy. Rather it merely refers to "such actions . . . as may be appropriate to implement or con[s]true" the Fund Act. The term "appropriate" limits the type of suit permissible to those aimed at implementing or construing the Act. Thus, the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
By placing a greater burden on the term "appropriate" than it can bear, the majority reaches a result that also conflicts with the rest of the provision. Section 9011(b)(1) itself draws no distinction between the FEC and other plaintiffs. To the contrary, by listing them together, it implies that they enjoy an equal capacity to bring suit. Indeed, the majority seems to agree. Acknowledging that a suit by the DNC might be "appropriate," it finds its hands tied by the statute's failure to distinguish between possible plaintiffs: "Congress simply did not draft the statute in a way that distinguishes the DNC from any individual voter." Ante at 470 U. S. 488. This statement is perplexing, for the statute does not distinguish either from the FEC -- though the majority does so anyway. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The majority relies primarily on 2 U.S.C. § 437c(b)(1), which grants the FEC "exclusive jurisdiction with respect to the civil enforcement of " the Act. When it adopted this provision, Congress did not change § 9011, which had already been in existence for five years. Indeed, except for the 1974 substitution of the Commission for the Comptroller General, § 9011 has never been amended, despite the frequent changes to the FECA and to other Fund Act provisions. By basing its argument on § 437c(b)(1), the majority contends, in effect, that § 9011 was repealed by implication. Absent a clear indication that such a repeal was intended, we should not infer chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
what candidates and parties will receive what funding, the bill provides for "expeditious disposition of legal proceedings brought with respect to these chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
My disagreements with this analysis, which continues this Court's dismemberment of congressional efforts to regulate campaign financing, are many. First, I continue to believe that Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1 (1976), was wrongly decided. Congressional regulation of the amassing and spending chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The burden on actual speech imposed by limitations on the spending of money is minimal and indirect. All rights of chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In short, as I said in Buckley, 424 U.S. at 424 U. S. 262, I cannot accept the cynic's "money talks" as a proposition of constitutional law. Today's holding also rests on a second aspect of the Buckley holding with which I disagree, viz., its distinction between "independent" and "coordinated" expenditures. The Court was willing to accept that expenditures undertaken in consultation with a candidate or his committee should be viewed as contributions. Id. at 424 U. S. 46. But it rejected Congress' judgment that independent expenditures were matters of equal concern, concluding that they did not chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
pose the danger of real or apparent corruption that supported limits on contributions. [Footnote 2/7] The distinction is not tenable. "Independent" PAC expenditures function as contributions. Indeed, a significant portion of them no doubt would be direct contributions to campaigns had the FECA not limited such contributions to $5,000. See 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(2)(A). The growth of independent PAC spending has been a direct and openly acknowledged response to the contribution limits in the FECA. See, e.g., Brief for Appellees 3-4. In general, then, the reasons underlying limits on contributions equally underly limits on such "independent" expenditures. The credulous acceptance of the formal distinction between coordinated and independent expenditures blinks political reality. That the PACs' expenditures are not formally "coordinated" is too slender a reed on which to distinguish them from actual contributions to the campaign. The candidate cannot help but know of the extensive efforts "independently" undertaken on his behalf. In this realm of possible tacit understandings and implied agreements, I see no reason chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
As in Buckley, I am convinced that it is pointless to limit the amount that can be contributed to a candidate or spent with his approval without also limiting the amounts that can be spent on his behalf. [Footnote 2/9] In the Fund Act, Congress limited chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The majority never explicitly identifies whose First Amendment interests it believes it is protecting. However, its concern for rights of association and the effective political speech of those of modest means, ante at 470 U. S. 494-495, indicates that it is concerned with the interests of the PACs' contributors. But the "contributors" are exactly that -- contributors, rather than speakers. Every reason the majority gives for treating § 9012(f) as a restraint on speech relates to the effectiveness with which the donors can make their voices heard. In other chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The Court strikes down § 9012(f) because it prevents PAC donors from effectively speaking by proxy. But appellees are not simply mouthpieces for their individual contributors. The PAC operates independently of its contributors. See App. 26, Joint Stipulation No. 13. Donations go into the committee's general accounts. See App. 28-29, Joint Stipulations Nos. 27-30. It can safely be assumed that each contributor does not fully support every one of the variety of chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The Fund Act provides major party candidates the option of accepting public financing, drawn from a fund composed of voluntary checkoffs from federal income tax payments, and forgoing all private contributions. In upholding this system chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Because it is an indispensable component of the public funding scheme, § 9012(f) is supported by governmental interests absent in Buckley. Rather than forcing Congress to abandon public financing because it is unworkable without constitutionally prohibited restrictions on independent spending, I would hold that § 9012(f) is permissible precisely chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The majority argues that there is no danger here of direct political favors -- the paradigmatic ambassadorship in exchange chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The provision for exclusive public funding not only enhances the danger of real or perceived corruption posed by independent expenditures, it also gives more weight to the interest in holding down the overall cost of political campaigns. In Buckley, this concern was partly ignored, and partly rejected as not achieved by the means chosen. See 424 U.S. at 424 U. S. 25-26, and n. 27, 424 U. S. 48-49. Neither course is possible here. The Fund Act was a response not merely to "the influence of excessive private political contributions," but also to the "dangers of spiraling campaign expenditures." H.R.Rep. No. 93-1239, p. 13 (1974). I am unwilling to discount the latter concern, particularly in the context of a scheme where public financing is supposed to replace private financing and cap total expenditures. Certainly there can be no concern that communication will suffer for want of money spent on the campaigns. [Footnote 2/13] Finally, in the context of the public chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Id. at 424 U. S. 29. In striking down chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Undoubtedly, when an individual interested in obtaining the proverbial ambassadorship had the option of either contributing directly to a candidate's campaign or doing so indirectly through independent expenditures, he gave money directly. It does not take great imagination, however, to see that, when the possibility for direct financial assistance is severely limited, as it is in light of Buckley's decision to uphold the contribution limitation, such an individual will find other ways to financially benefit the candidate's campaign. It simply belies reality to say that a campaign will not reward massive financial assistance provided in the only way that is legally available. And the possibility of such a reward provides a powerful incentive to channel an independent expenditure chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
I disagree that the limitations on contributions and expenditures have significantly different impacts on First Amendment freedoms. First, the underlying rights at issue -- freedom of speech and freedom of association -- are both core First Amendment rights. Second, in both cases, the regulation is of the same form: it concerns the amount of money that can be spent for political activity. Thus, I do not see how one interest can be deemed more compelling than the other. 470 U. S. S. 521Á