Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce

E176891

Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce was a 1990 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld restrictions on corporate independent political expenditures under the First Amendment until it was later overturned by Citizens United.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
campaign finance case
affectedEntityType for-profit corporations
nonprofit corporations
arguedDate 1989-10-31
citation 494 U.S. 652
concurrenceBy William J. Brennan Jr.
constitutionalProvision First Amendment to the United States Constitution
surface form: U.S. Const. amend. I
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1990-03-27
defendant Richard H. Austin
defendantOffice Secretary of State of Michigan
surface form: Michigan Secretary of State
dissentBy Antonin Scalia
dissentJoinedBy Anthony M. Kennedy
William H. Rehnquist
docketNumber 88-1569
firstPage 652
fullName Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce self-link
holding Restrictions on corporate independent political expenditures under Michigan law do not violate the First Amendment.
The State of Michigan may restrict corporate independent expenditures in support of or opposition to candidates for state office.
joinedByInMajority Anthony M. Kennedy
Byron R. White
Harry A. Blackmun
John Paul Stevens
Sandra Day O’Connor
William J. Brennan Jr.
jurisdiction Michigan
surface form: State of Michigan
legalIssue The Right of Free Speech
surface form: First Amendment free speech

campaign finance regulation
corporate independent expenditures
majorityOpinionBy Thurgood Marshall
overruledBy Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
overruledByCitation 558 U.S. 310
overruledByDecisionDate 2010-01-21
plaintiff Michigan Chamber of Commerce
precedentStatus overruled in part
priorHistory Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce self-linksurface differs
surface form: Michigan Chamber of Commerce v. Austin, 424 N.W.2d 13 (Mich. 1988)
reasoningKeyConcept compelling state interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption
distortion of the political process by corporate wealth
relatedCase Buckley v. Valeo
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission
reporter United States Reports
shortName Austin
statuteInvolved Michigan statutes
surface form: Michigan Campaign Finance Act
topic corporate political speech
election spending limits
volume 494

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission overruledPrecedent Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce fullName Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce self-link
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce priorHistory Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Michigan Chamber of Commerce v. Austin, 424 N.W.2d 13 (Mich. 1988)